Divided Realms
by Legna the Sorcerer
Summary: It is said that the worlds are connected. But is that really true? In one world, a kingdom becomes corrupted and heroes become outcasts. In another, it is rumored the end of the world is coming. Rated for language. Discontinued and wanting deletion.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note**: I'm fond of prologues for some reason. . . And shorts too, for that matter. . . Anyway, this crossover story is for NaNoWriMo so expect it to be updated fairly often. And I mean it. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Also, this story will replace Ragnarok Unfolds and is technically the sequel to Tales of Change, minus the children.

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Divided Realms

**Prologue**

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They say in this realm, all worlds are linked.

They say in this realm, what happens in one world can happen in another.

Could I go so far as to say that a new king was being crowned in a different world at this very moment?

I could do nothing but watch as this new, corrupted king was being crowned. I knew about his corruption, his deceit, his lies, but I could do nothing. This kingdom was not my home, just a place I happened to pass through, before I heard about the coronation of this king.

Was another world earning themselves a new, corrupted king themselves? Or is that just a lie?


	2. Chapter 1: One Year Later

**Author's Note**: Doing good so far, wrote almost 2,000 words today~ I'm a fast writer, and I love it. I may make this a Grand Chase/Elsword/Dynas (my made up world) crossover or something.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 1: One Year Later**

**

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**"Elesis, have you heard?" I heard Lire call out to me.

"Heard what?" I asked.

"Kanavan is crowning their new king today!" my elven friend seemed quite ecstatic for some reason about this. I, however, wasn't.

"Oh, that," I said, sounding bored. "I heard about that for a long time, y'know. I mean, I _live_ in Kanavan!"

"I-I forgot, sorry! B-But still!" Why was Lire so excited over this? It happened every time the current king or queen died.

I glanced outside, noting the position of the sun, and sighed. "Well, the coronation's starting soon Lire, wanna come and watch?" Lire nodded. "Let's go then."

The two of us headed towards Kanavan's castle, the location of the new king's coronation.

The Queen of Kanavan had died only a month ago from an incurable disease. It happened so suddenly. . . The Queen was so healthy only three months ago before the sickness hit her hard. She was bedridden ever since she came down with the disease, and it turned out to be no surprise when she finally died. . . The kingdom had all believed she would die, especially when one of the best healers from the Violet Mage Guild in Serdin could not rid the Queen of her disease.

"Elesis, are you thinking about the Queen?" Lire asked me, interrupting my thoughts. There was no hiding anything from Lire.

"Yes," I answered. "It seems so sudden, yet not surprising."

"I wonder what kind of disease it was?" Lire pondered aloud. "I mean, only she was afflicted with this disease. Could it have something to do with her genes?"

"Well, we'll never know; she had no heir or any other living relatives." I thought for a second before continuing. "I mean, her father was killed in a war that happened before the war that killed Serdin's previous Queen, the mother died of grief for the loss of her King, and our now-dead Queen's suitors seem to have all either stopped pursuing the Queen, or have died."

"It's all strange, wouldn't you think?" Lire said, a hint of worry in her voice. "I mean, why would that even happen, the deal with the suitors. . . It's strange. . . The Queen of Kanavan was a very wondrous queen of her time, except for what happened with Kaze'aze. . ."

"Don't mention that witches name to me again, Lire!" I snapped, feeling anger trying to take over, then shook my head. "I'm sorry, but. . . You know."

Lire sighed jokingly. "I know, I know, you hot-head. Let's hurry!" Then Lire took off.

"Hey, no fair!" I called after her and began to chase her. "And I am not a hot-head!"

"Are too!" Lire shot over her shoulder.

The two of us raced through the town that resided near the castle, sometimes narrowly avoiding the citizens, stalls, and other obstacles in our way.

Soon, the two of us were near the castle gates, out of breath.

"I beatcha!" I cried out victoriously.

"Nu-uh!" Lire protested. "You cheated!"

"Admit it, you're just slow!" I taunted.

"At least I don't just rush into things!"

"Who does what now?"

"Hey, hey, quit fighting, ladies," a familiar voice cried out.

Lire and I looked over in the direction of the voice; the Royal Guard Master.

"Ladies shouldn't be fighting," Ronan said, scolding us. As he walked over to us, I noticed that he was dressed in his Royal Guard Master clothes. The emblem signifying his rank shone softly, as if it was recently polished. Knowing Ronan, it probably was.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Don't you have a coronation that you should be guarding?"

"Don't _you_ have a coronation you have to go to as representative?" Ronan shot back.

I growled slightly but said, "It doesn't start for another thirty minutes! Plus, _why_ do I have to go?"

"Elesis, you're one of Kanavan's top knights. Plus, you're Bermesiah's _Savior_, you're-"

I cut Ronan off before he could continue. "So? I'd rather just watch and then leave whenever I wanted to! Plus, it's not like I'm actually doing anything, am I?"

"Well, you're there to represent Kanavan's knights in honor of the new king," Ronan said, smiling a bit.

"Well, _you're_ the Royal Guard Master!" I cried, running out of excuses, hoping Ronan wouldn't notice.

"Yes, I'm the head of the _Royal Guard_, not Kanavan's Knights. There's a difference."

Dammit.

"I. . . I. . . Fine!" I cried in frustration. I was not going to enjoy this.

"It won't be _that_ bad, Elesis," Lire said.

"Easy for you to say, you're only going to be watching," I grumbled. Lire wasn't going to be representing the Elven Corps, unluckily. One of the elven elders would be. Personally, I thought that Lire should be representing, since she was the first Nova in who-knows-how-long. It didn't seem fair!

"At least Arme and Lass are going to be up there too," I said.

Ronan glanced in the direction of the castle. "Personally, I don't see why. Serdin is usually never required to send any representatives except for their current ruler, and she's already here, and Silver Cross is all the way in _Ellia_ of all places."

"Who knows, who cares," I said dismissively. "There's probably a reason but oh well, Arme and Lass can suffer with me too."

"I suggest you not do anything to piss Arme off," Lire warned. "She does not want to do this, even though she's the Violet Mage Guild's current Head Mage. Arme's in a really bad mood, and she's only going to hide it during the whole event."

I just shrugged; I already knew not to piss off Arme when she was in one of her moods. Lire's warning was unneeded.

"Shall we go, miladies?" Ronan bowed down to us.

"D-Don't do that!" I pulled Ronan up out of his bow. "We're not royalty or anything!"

Ronan just chuckled, ticking me off just slightly. "To me, you _are_ royalty, Elesis."

I tried to ignore that remark, turning away with a slight blush.

"After all, our marriage is only a month away," Ronan reminded me.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I said softly.

I didn't protest as Ronan took my arm in his and led me to towards the castle. Lire chuckled behind us and uttered a quick "So cute" before following us. Luckily for her, I wasn't going to get her for that. Just because.

As we got closer and closer to the castle, the crowd got bigger and bigger. I wondered how many people had came to see the coronation. . .

"Hey, Ryan!" Lire called out suddenly.

"Lire!" Immediately I saw Ryan's orange hair as he made his way towards us. He was garbed in his Xenocider outfit, though he didn't have his Storm Pikes with him.

The two elves embraced each other tightly before giving each other a quick kiss. I turned away slightly as Ronan let go of my arm to place his arm around my shoulders.

"Want a beating?" I said teasingly.

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried," Ronan responded back, smiling. I smiled back as I turned my gaze back upon Ryan and Lire, who were now simply holding hands. They seemed quite happier, happier than I was at the moment. The thought of sitting through the entire coronation did not help my mood, but at least Ronan did, if only a little. . .

Then Lire spoke to me. "Elesis, isn't it time to go up soon?"

I sighed loudly in frustration. "I wish I could just turn around right now and run and hide somewhere!"

Ronan held me close to him tightly. "And I will keep you here!" He held me so close, my face was buried in his cloak.

"Mmph!" I cried out, and struggled to break free. "Mmph mm mmg!"

"What?" Ronan asked as I managed to pull free a bit.

"I said 'Let me go!'"

"I'll let you go if you don't run!"

"Fine!"

"Uh, you two really should get going now," Lire warned. "I see Lass and Arme up there already." I followed her gaze over to the castle, where there was a grand display set up.

Many, if not all, the members of the Royal Guard lined the edges of the courtyard, which was filled with numerous chairs for guests to sit on. There were two trumpeters on each side of the stage, their trumpets almost as fancy as their clothes were. They made me think of jesters on a stage.

The stage itself was one I recognized from in a town once where they had once hung a criminal. Its original purpose was hidden with all the decorations and lack of the gallows. The lights strung upon the lower portion of the stage seemed eerie to me, and sent a shudder through me.

"Cold?" Ronan asked me. I shook my head no as I noticed Arme and Lass and a few others standing upon the stage. Arme looked very annoyed, though she hid it exceedingly well whenever someone important looked at or spoke to her. Lass, meanwhile, looked slightly nervous and bored.

"I see Arme and Lassy," I grumbled.

"That's good then," Ronan said, looking around.

"Who're you looking for?" I asked.

"Amy, Jin, and. . . your father," Ronan answered. "I heard that they would be here too, Amy and Jin for the Silver Knights."

"The Silver Knights?" I asked, confused. "They're in _Silver Land_ of all places! What does Silver Land have to do with Kanavan?" This was getting weirder and weird by the moment.

"I don't know why," Ronan answered, "but I heard a rumor it's because this new king and the Queen of Serdin are not on great terms with each other, so all these various groups, affiliations, and kingdoms are here to show they support the new king or something. . . I don't know myself, though." Weird. . .

"So I take it my father's here just because he's the legendary Sieghart?" I asked. Ronan nodded, and I let out a quick laugh. "Figures. . ."

"So that means all of us will technically be here then?" Lire asked.

"Seems like it," Ryan answered. "Gonna be good to see everyone again after Kaze'aze's fall, eh?"

"I'll never forget it," Lire said softly. I doubted any one of us could, even if we wanted to. . .

"Let's go, Elesis." Ronan pulled me along, leaving me with no choice.

"Just get me out of here quickly at the earliest possible moment, please?" I asked.

"Of course."


	3. Chapter 2: Experiment For Me

**Author's Note**: And here we go, going good so far~ Too bad I don't really like this chapter for certain reasons. . . Oh well.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 2: Experiment For Me**

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**The half-hearted cheers as the king was crowned didn't seem that strange. In fact, it seemed almost expected. I'd heard of this king; his father, the previous king, was a very unkind ruler. He would tax the people heavily and punish them for even minor offenses. The new king, as a prince, was brought up to be just like his father.

As the new king droned on about something I thought to be unimportant, I headed back inside a slightly decrepit house. From the outside, vines and tall grasses clung to the old brick walls. A window had cracked, and another was even missing a piece of glass from a corner. The shades drawn, the house looked uninhabited, except it wasn't.

The door creaked slightly as I pushed it opened and stepped inside, coughing slightly at the dust that became disturbed with my entrance. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and I picked up an old book with a spell circle on its cover.

The word "_Magicia_" was written in gold above the circle, part of the letters flaking off. The rest of the words were gone due to age, but I knew the name of this book; _Magicia Dynas_. _Of the Magic of Dynas_.

Dynas. . . The world that I live on, and its odd manner of speaking. At least, it would seem odd to non-speakers of Dynastia. I ended up learning both English and Dynastia, thanks to my mother, so I could read books in the two different languages books were often written in. They say it's easier to learn English than Dynastia though.

I took a quick glance at the spell circle in chalk that was on the floor and sighed. This would be my thirteenth attempt; not a good sign. Someone once told me that if a spell succeeded on the thirteenth try, then something bad will happen soon after.

Looking around the small room, I searched for a vial of green liquid, which I soon saw on a shelf. The bottle felt light in my hands, and when I took the stopper off, a sweet scent filled the room, making feel slightly light-headed. I quickly shook the feeling off, holding my breath for the time being.

I held the vial only an inch above the chalk of the spell circle and proceeded to trace the lines I had carefully drawn, leaving not even a centimeter of chalk uncovered. The liquid turned red and began to glow as it made contact with the chalk.

As soon as I finished, leaving the runic symbols uncovered by liquid, I opened up my book. The page was looking for was marked with a dead leaf, which I placed on the table. Before I began to recite the spell, I quickly read it over, then twice more to get the words in my head.

The words sounded familiar to me, as I had recited them many times before, only to mess up just one small portion of the spell. I hoped I would fail this time, as this was the thirteenth try.

The spell circle began to glow as I continued the spell. It seemed as if a miniature whirlwind had entered the room, blowing papers in a vortex, and whatever else wasn't held down with some sort of weight. The glow grew brighter and brighter until I had to close my eyes tightly.

And then it stopped. A smell like rotten eggs mixed with something burnt filled the air, replacing the sweet scent. I nearly gagged.

Opening my eyes, I saw that there seemed to be a charred spot where the spell circle was. Actually, the spell circle was still there, but just faded. In the middle of the circle was some sort of black, stinking lump, the source of the stench. It was as if someone had tried to cook something over a fire and failed miserably, then proceeded to continue cooking it. I had once watched someone do that before and the result looked like the lump on the floor.

Warily, I stepped over to the smoldering lump. It seemed to be sizzling slightly, and I heard some small snapping and popping sounds coming from it. I grabbed a wooden stick that must have got blown around from the vortex and prodded the lump. Nothing happened, so I stabbed it from the top and proceeded to break it apart.

Bad idea. The smell grew worse quickly, so I quickly grabbed a small bottle and emptied its contents onto the lump, then I quickly exited the house. It would take a few hours for the smell to subside.

While I was inside, it turned out that the little coronation ceremony seemed to be over, and everyone was out doing their daily rituals.

I walked down the streets past stalls selling various goods, some edible, some not; some useful, some not.

"Excuse me sir, are you interested?" a merchant asked me. I decided to take a look at his wares, which consisted mostly of some simple magical items like powders, liquids, and other various items. There were a couple books stacked in a corner, so I decided to look at those.

The covers were in a mix of English and Dynastia, which made for sometimes-confusing meanings. Then I noticed one book said "_Magicia Dragon_"; "_Of the Magic of Dragons_. Dragon magic?

"How much is this book?" I asked, pulling it out of the stack.

The merchant looked over at its cover and said, "How much you wanna offer?"

Setting the book down, I took out the satchel that hung from one of the two belts I wore. Rummaging through it, I found a small crystal that was useless in most magical uses, but would probably sell for a bit.

"This," I said, handing the merchant the crystal. Without another word, the merchant picked the book up and handed it to me, seeming entranced by the crystal, useless as it was.

"Thank you," I muttered as I walked away. Its only use was to sell, which was probably what he was going to do to the crystal.

Dragon magic. . . The topic was touched upon briefly in chapter 5: Magic in "The Dynas World". What I had read had interested me, and perhaps this book would give me a lot more information. Dragons are a sacred species, and their intelligence levels were typically more impressive than any mere human's. That was one reason why I loved dragons; they were so smart. . . The other reason was their magic.

A dragon's magic was stronger and more refined than most other being's, due to the fact that dragons can live longer and have more time to hone their magical skills, though some prefer not to use them. And if a non-dragon were to be able to use dragon magic. . . But that had to be given to someone willingly by a dragon, and few dragons were willing to lose their powers that willingly.

I always wondered if a sort of collaboration between dragons and non-dragons one year ago would have helped stopped their decline.

One year ago, the dragons began to disappear from Dynas. Those that were still alive went into hiding to avoid extinction. No one knows how or why, but people began to hunt them once again that year ago. Who would hunt such graceful and majestic creatures as those?

Only the ignorant would.

Only two months ago, it was decreed by the higher ups that had a loose rule over the entire world that it was punishable by death if one were to hunt a dragon, even if it were just an attempt, even if the dragon wasn't even found. But I felt it was too late; the dragons don't trust any non-dragon now, and they'll wait for years before coming back out, maybe even centuries later.

I went back to my house, even though it wasn't even two hours since I left it. The stench was less strong, so I simply breathed through my mouth as I cleaned the place up, stacking up all the papers by different categories. Books went back into shelves, except for a select few I stuck in my satchel.

Then I walked over to the shelves full of different bottles and vials. Some were filled with liquids that glowed various colors. Other bottles and vials were filled with dry items, like powders. The shelf all these items were sitting on threatened to fall if the two supports under the bottom shelf was removed.

My fingers skimmed the upper shelves until I knocked off a few items carefully, catching them with my other hand. Most of these were small gems and minerals. A couple were just bottles of some stuff I might need. The rest I just let fall.

In one corner of the room, I picked up a couple bottles and a roll of gauze in case I needed it. Then I picked up my main spell book, which I hung off a small hole in my belt, and then my staff, which I slipped between my back and one of the belts upside down, so the larger part hung towards the ground.

Walking back over to the shelves and turned around to face the room. I had stayed in this house for one month and tried to recreate a minor dragon crystal for this area, like so many other mages would be doing in various other locations. I wondered if they had failed like I had, or succeeded like I hadn't. Either way, I wasn't about to try any longer.

Turning back to the shelves, I grabbed both supports under the bottom shelf and pulled back hard, stepping back as quickly as I could in the process. The shelves fell down quickly and noisily; glasses broke, bottles bounced around, contents were spilled, liquids splashed. It all gathered in a pile on the floor with the wood from the now-broken shelves.

Sighing, I tossed the supports into the pile and turned around to walk out only to stop when I heard a splatting sound. Looking down, I realized I had stepped onto the lump from the thirteenth failed experiment.

"Must be a sign," I grumbled before taking my foot out of the mess. I leaped over the remnants of the failed mess and headed outside, noticing how dark it was now.

In my hand was a small bit of chalk, which I wrote with on the door. A simple circle, an equilateral triangle within, and basic runic symbols inside the circle along the circle's edge.

I let the chalk fall, and contemplated just one more experiment, one more try to recreate a dragon crystal, to try and bring back the dragons.

My finger raised, just an inch from the very center of the triangle, of the circle, and I whispered, "Flare."

Then I walked away. I didn't need to look back at the house to know that the wooden door was set aflame, to see how the flames erupted from the center of the circle, to see how the fire engulfed the house so quickly, so mercilessly. A month of work was now erased, and my existence would soon leave the town to report back a failed mission.

Is this just a hopeless mission?


	4. Chapter 3: Coronation Ceremonies

**Author's Note**: Excluding author's notes, turns out I have over 5,000 words so far~ So happy~ I cheated with this chapter, kinda, because I gave up looking for how a coronation goes.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 3: Coronation Ceremonies are Tiresome**

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I almost wanted to laugh at Elesis' irritation. She looked so irritated, so annoyed, and when she tried to hide it, I almost felt sorry for the people who talked to her! At least Arme was better at this than Elesis was!

The coronation ceremony began just as the sun began to sink below the horizon. Loud, blaring trumpets were sounded, seemingly out of tune, or maybe that was just me. The trumpeters looked quite gaudy in their outfits, but I stifled a laugh; I didn't wish to seem rude.

At least this ceremony was outside. Inside, it would've been quite warm, what with all the people that was in attendance. The chairs could have been more comfortable, though, but I guess that couldn't be helped.

"How long is this going to last again?" Ryan whispered to me.

"Um, perhaps thirty minutes. I heard the new king would have to attend to some important matters after this, so it was decided the coronation would be kept short this time," I whispered back.

"Don't they usually take longer, what with all the extra stuff?" Ryan asked.

"Like I said. . ."

"I know, I know. . ."

"Ssh!" I looked around a bit to see who that was, but could not see. I decided to just keep quiet anyway, as did Ryan.

I saw the representatives I knew that were on stage lined up; Elesis, Ronan, an elven elder, Arme, Lass, and Jin. It was odd but I didn't feel at all mad or even mildly annoyed that I was not chosen to represent the Elven Corps. Weird.

The representatives stood up when this mid-aged man came up onto the stage. So this was the new king. . .

There was an odd air about him that gave me a feeling of dread, but I tried to ignore it.

"Cold?" Ryan asked me. I shook my head no, and decided to watch the coronation.

The new king and Kanavan's adviser exchanged words or something (I didn't pay attention), then Ronan came up and knelt in front of the guy.

"The Kanavan Royal Guard swear under oath that we shall protect you from any and all harm," Ronan said. "We are your Royal Guards; at your word we will fight for you, we will protect you. We are your shield and your sword and will never betray you under penalty of death." Does the Royal Guard Master make this oath or something to all the new kings or queens? Probably. Personally, I wouldn't like to swear such a thing to someone like this.

I noticed that no one else did this kinda oath or something, so I simply assumed that they were only here as just representatives. But I thought they'd do something more. . . Oh well.

Ronan then got up and stepped aside, allowing the new king and the adviser to step forward to the front of the stage.

Off to the side, a young woman came up. In her hands was a velvet red pillow with gold lace along its sides. An intricate gold crown rested on the red velvet with many tiny gems decorating it. There was a single, larger sapphire in the front of the crown. I don't get why royalty just loves something such as this. Was it just to show off the wealth?

The woman knelt, carefully holding the crown up above her head. The adviser picked up the crown in his hands and turned to the new king, who then knelt.

"Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the kingdom of Kanavan the rule of law?" the adviser recited. "Will you maintain and preserve the peace of the land and to punish those who dare to violate the peace? Will you. . ." I started to tune out the words, feeling as if they were starting to repeat themselves.

"Lire?" Ryan whispered to me.

"Huh," I answered back, feeling slightly drowsy.

"Wake up."

I opened my eyes. I feel asleep? When?

Looking around, I noticed that almost everyone was starting to get up. Oops.

"I-I slept through the coronation?" I asked Ryan.

"Yeah, you did," he answered. "Luckily, you don't snore." I lightly slapped Ryan.

"Why didn't you wake me?" I whispered to him, feeling a slight flush. I couldn't believe I slept through this!

"Well, it _was_ boring," Ryan admitted, then kissed me. "Let's just go back to the Elven Forest."

"Sounds like a good idea."

The two of us got up and went over to the castle's gates.

"Hey! You!" a voice yelled behind us.

Alarmed, I turned around, afraid someone had noticed I was asleep.

It was Elesis.

She halted in front of us, seething.

"You slept through it!" Elesis cried out.

"So?" I tried not to let a blush overtake me, knowing that someone had seen me sleep.

"I wanted to do that! But nooooooo, I had to stay _awake_!" Then I realized Elesis was pretending to be angry at _me_. "It was so boring I wanted to _die_!"

"Well, at least you _didn't_ fall asleep, or otherwise people will think badly of the great Savior of Bermesiah!" I told her, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah well. . . Well. . ." Elesis looked behind her suddenly. "Crap, I gotta go, this new king is kind of demanding. I'll getcha later, promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, go on, ya hot-head!" I shoved Elesis in the direction of the castle. "Ryan and I are heading back to the Elven Forest, we're doing some last-minute preparations for our wedding in two weeks."

Elesis nodded, a genuine smile on her face. "I can't wait, though I'll be dreading wearing something as poofy as that dress you showed me!"

I smiled back. "And imagine the _wedding_ dress you'll have to wear!" Elesis groaned loudly.

"Imagine _me_ in a wedding dress!"

"I can! And you'll look sooooooooo pretty!" I giggled at the thought. But the dress she tried on, she looked quite beautiful! If only she dressed up more, but oh well.

"Elesis, weren't you leaving?" Ryan asked, ruining our fun.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving." Elesis turned to leave, then said, "I'll see you guys in two weeks." Then she left, running.

I smiled. "You too, Elesis. . ."

"Well, shall we?" Ryan held out his hand, which I took.

"Let's head back before it gets too late," I said, and the two of us ran.

We ran through town, just like how Elesis and I ran through town earlier before, and then we were out, heading into the forest, which became a lovely clearing after about thirty minutes of running.

Ryan and I were breathing hard when we stopped.

"Whoo, we ran so far!" I cried out, and let myself fall onto the soft grass, still panting..

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Ryan sat down on the grass next to me. I could faintly hear his heart racing amidst the soft breeze that had started.

"The night is so beautiful, isn't it?" I said, looking up at the sky. The reds and oranges and yellows of the sun were starting to die, leaving behind blues and purples of the natural night sky. I could see some white pinpoints of stars appearing, twinkling softly.

"Odd," Ryan said. I looked at him questioningly.

"The sun set during the coronation, Lire. . ." Ryan whispered. I could hear the slight fear in his voice, and realized what that could mean.

"Oh no. . . No. . ." I quickly stood up. "Please, don't tell me. . ."

Immediately, Ryan turned into a wolf and I climbed onto his back. He ran swiftly into the woods that would soon become the Elven Forest.

It didn't take long before we saw why the sky still contained those bright, warm colors, confirming my fears.

The Elven Forest was on fire.


	5. Chapter 4: After the Fire

**Author's Note**: Arme's got height issues.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 4: After the Fire**

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"I. . . Miss Arme?" the young girl's voice was soft as she called my name.

"Yes?" I tried to keep my cool as I turned to her.

"D-Do you really think monsters had something to do with this?" she asked me.

"Who else would dare to set aflame the Elven Forest?" I replied. "It is dangerously close to a town, and to set fire to the Forest risks setting aflame that town. If it was a non-monster, then they _will_ be punished! If it was a monster. . . Well, let's just say that they've screwed their fellow monsters as well." I smiled.

The young girl, Ayla, cringed before me, and I frowned.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, holding out my hand, which she stepped back from slightly. Why was she so scared of me? I did nothing to harm her, nor gave her a reason to fear me. Did I?

"I-I'm sorry, it's j-just that. . ." Ayla paused, as if afraid I would lash out at her. . . "You smiled so scarily. . ."

"I did?" I thought I just smiled like I normally did, "just like an angel" some have said. Just to try, I smiled again, a smile that showed my teeth just slightly, eyes closed. . . Lass sometimes described it like a little angel smiling.

"N-Not like that," Ayla told me. "You didn't have your eyes closed that time. . ."

"Never mind this, let's just. . . go." Maybe I'd try smiling to myself in a mirror and see if Ayla was just easily frightened.

As I headed towards the Elven Forest, I could still smell the acrid stench of smoke from a fire long put out. It was the day of Lire and Ryan's wedding, a wedding that will never be now, not with so much missing.

"Have they ever discovered the source of the fire?" I asked Ayla.

"T-They said that it started from a torch in the north end of the forest."

Great, the north end. We were in the south end.

I tried not to swear as I made my way north, ignoring the ash. I wondered what Lire and Ryan would say about this. . . Ryan would probably cry his eyes out, and Lire. . . She'd be worried more about Ryan, I guess. . .

Then I saw a group of soldiers up ahead. They were blocking the path.

"Hey! Out of the way!" I yelled as I came up to them.

One of the soldiers looked down on me, making me feel a bit angry. I _hated_ it when someone looked down upon me, _especially_ as if I were a little kid!

"Sorry, um, miss, but why are you here?" he asked me, almost sweetly.

"I am Arme, the head of the Violet Mage Guild, and I was requested by the King of Kanavan to help out in this investigation," I told him sweetly. "Now get out of my way, assholes."

I smiled innocently as the soldier seemed a bit surprised at what I called him.

"I-Uh, that is to say, um. . ."

Another soldier came up. "Miss Arme, I'm sorry but you came here unnecessarily. The source of the fire's been discovered and it was just a torch. You needn't involve yourself any further." He stood at a guard's formal stance; right hand gripping the sword's sheath, left hand at his side, back straight, eyes looking straight into mine.

"I want to see the torch, or shall I tell his majesty that I was unable to do as he requested of me due to his own soldiers getting in my way?" I hoped my voice was sweet as honey, oddly mingled with my threat.

"Ah, well, right this way, ma'am." The soldier turned and began walking north, so I followed, though I didn't like to follow others unless I wanted to. I knew the way, anyway.

It was a few minutes of more walking until we made it to the north of the forest. The damage was the worst here, but there were already fronds of green poking up through the ash. Burnt trees littered the landscape, and I noticed that some soldiers were trying to knock them over. Assholes.

"Here is the torch, Miss Arme." The soldier that had walked ahead of me was standing near a thick stick of wood that was heavily burnt. There seemed to be a ring around the stick, and the damage seemed to be worse in a large area around the stick.

"Hm." I used magic to levitate the stick in front of me to inspect it closer. What were those shallow grooves in the stick? There were four that almost encircled the branch and were parallel to each other, each the same distance apart, and ended at points on each end. The grooves weren't very big, but I could easily tell what they were.

"A monster held this," I murmured. "A monster destroyed the Elven Forest. A monster killed Ryan and Lire. . ."

I glanced at Ayla, daring her to argue it was a human this time. She kept silent, her eyes wide as she came to the same conclusion as I had.

"The town that resides near the Elven Forest has torches to light their houses and the streets," I said. "The town is only a quarter-mile north of this Forest."

"B-But what monster did this?" Ayla asked.

Looking around, I noticed some shallow footsteps that led to where the torch had lain, then the footsteps became spaced further away as they seemed to exit the forest; most likely fleeing from the newly-started fire. The footsteps reminded me of. . . of. . . I couldn't think.

"I'm not sure," I answered. "I have a few guesses, but I'd have to do a few tests involving some monster maws." Ayla gulped; she was scared of scary monsters, which included those with sharp teeth.

"Let's go," I said, walking around the soldiers and headed to the next town. During the walk, I decided to think about the events that happened recently.

First, there was the death of the Queen of Kanavan. Then there was the coronation of the new ruler of Kanavan, the King of Kanavan. After the coronation, I was told Lire and Ryan went to the Elven Forest, where a fire had been started. While trying to put out the flames, Lire and Ryan were attacked by a mob of harpies, which ended up killing both elves and the harpies. . . The funeral was held at Eryuell Island.

Usually the dead were cremated, but since Ryan and Lire already were, some elves made a shroud with a beautiful, intricate pattern of green and gold intermingling that represented an eternal bond. Ryan's Storm Pike and Lire's Composite Bow were placed on the shroud, and then a fire was set to it as the elves whispered prayers and tearful goodbyes to the two elves. . . The Grand Chase attended as well, of course. Such a teary goodbye. . .

"M-Miss Arme, y-you're crying," Ayla said to me.

Looking up, I felt the tears sliding down my face as I recalled the funeral. I quickly wiped them away.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I grumbled. "Let's hurry. . " My pace quickened, and Ayla hurried to match.

I was absolutely positive monsters were involved in the deaths of two of my close friends. I would never forgive any monster. . . They would _pay_.

Then Ayla let out a small gasp.

"Hm?" I looked up again, not noticing anything out of place.

"Never been here?" I asked Ayla.

"N-No. . ." she answered.

"This is the town north of the Elven Forest," I explained. "Monsters live in the Elven Forest. The town is within walking distance of the Elven Forest. It's no surprise the town looks less like a town and more like ruins, does it not?"

The sight of the buildings, fallen and in shambles, surprised me not. Sometimes there was a dead body that lay in the streets, rotting away, white worms moving the flesh. There were people living here, but in the buildings that were in better conditions. Torches and fire were used to keep the town warm and lit, and that was why the forest had started; because there was an accessible source to fire nearby.

There was only one thing that kept this town alive, and that was the community. Everyone looked out for each other when possible, sharing what they had with each other, keeping each other company. . . Too bad more places couldn't be like this. The only time anyone died was either from disease, monster attacks, or old age. Usually no one ever starved, as the townsfolk had plenty of food and water from numerous sources.

No one ever explained to me why there was no more help than that.

"It looks so sad," Ayla whispered.

"At least they're close," I whispered back. "At least they love each other."

"Do you love anyone, Miss Arme?" I was asked, and I nodded.

"I do. . ." I answered. "I love my friends. They were my family to me. We may argue, but we'll still love each other. We're the best of friends, after all."

"It must be nice having friends you can trust."

"It is."

The two of us walked through the town, intending to explore, when an ear-splitting cry rang out.

"W-What was that?" Ayla cried, clearly shocked.

"Probably a monster," I answered. "C'mon, let's go."

"B-But shouldn't you help, Miss Arme?"

"Fine," I grumbled, and changed direction to where the cry was, and walked faster, just to make Ayla happy.

Oddly enough, I heard shouts and curses and names. Usually, the townsfolk just cried. This time, they sounded angry.

I soon saw why. As soon as I entered the vicinity, I saw a raggedy old man holding a bloodied knife in his hands, his face contorted in a delirious mask of anger. He was breathing hard as he stood there, immune to the shouts and cries and curses of his friends and family. In front of him lay a young girl, her face pale, distorted with a look of shock and hurt. Her eyes were glazed over and she lay unmoving. There was a a wound on her chest that still bled.

The old man had stabbed her. He had stabbed her, where every person was precious to one another.

Why did he do this? Why?


	6. Chapter 5: Lynus

Divided Realms

**Chapter 5: Lynus**

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**

It was a long walk to Lynus, especially through the desert heat. I wanted to _die_, it was so hot. Or maybe it was just me, even though I was born in Lynus, and I lived in Lynus for. . . for. . . about two years. The desert's heat just seemed unbearable, but I suppose a volcano would be even worse.

Turning to look back, I spied the local volcano spewing little bits smoke into the skies. It looked calm, but I was told it might explode someday soon. The thought of all that searing-hot lava getting near me at all wasn't pleasant.

Once I had to go into a volcano to rescue some idiot who got kidnapped by a lava dragon. If I wasn't sent with a group, I wouldn't have even made it to where the dragon was hiding with the kidnapped person; in a room full of magma.

I guess an aversion to great heat was natural with some whose main magical element is ice. . . Like me. . .

Was the walk to Lynus always this long? I didn't see any trace of the town at all in sight, and I was positive I was walking in the right direction. Did I get distracted and moved off my original path at one point? Did I just forget where Lynus was? Did I. . . forget there was a barrier covering it?

My face made contact with what seemed like an invisible wall and I stepped back, rubbing my face.

"Ow. . ." I muttered, then placed a hand on the invisible barrier. Past it, there seemed to be nothing but more desert and more rocks. However, inside was an actual town, city, whatever.

I forced myself to concentrate as I sent out a bit of mana with a message; "Let me in, please."

There was a small tingle that reached my fingers that sent me a message back; "Who are you?"

Sighing, I wondered who was monitoring the barrier, and then sent another message; "Legna Sapphrine, I'm reporting back a mission. And it's fucking hot out here."

There was a minute of nothing before the desert in front of my line of sight rippled and shimmered like water before I saw traces of a city, the outlines of buildings barely visible. I took this as a sign that I could get in, but when I tried, I hit the barrier again and fell backwards.

"Cut it out!" I yelled, angrily. Then I felt the heat of the sand through my clothes and jumped up. "Ow!"

There was a hushed laughing and I looked up to see a lizard crawling on the barrier. I almost mistook it for a dragon, but realized it was lacking wings. Though water dragons lacked wings, they hated deserts more than I did.

"Let me in already!" I yelled at the lizard. It just stuck its tongue out at me before it crawled up the barrier and soon out of sight. By then, the buildings of Lynus were clearly visible, so I experimentally stuck my hand at it. My hand went through, so I quickly went in through the barrier before the lizard could close it up again.

Lynus didn't seem to have changed much. A more city-like atmosphere in the southern end, where I currently was, and deeper in the middle would be where most houses would be. And it felt considerably cooler now, thank goodness.

Like always, the streets were busy in the southern area. As I made my way north, I sometimes had to avoid people running to their destinations, possibly late for jobs or some other thing. Sometimes, a car would occasionally breeze by, not a sound made due to its silent engine. The cloth I that hung from my arms blew easily in the wind, and I contemplated taking them off so as to not get caught on something, like a street lamp.

As the buildings became progressively smaller and smaller until they were just two-floor houses, I took the cloths off my arms and wrapped them around my staff, which still felt warm from the heat of the desert. I decided to just carry my staff like a wizard typically would carry theirs; the larger end up top, the thinner end near the ground.

Walking in the desert wasn't so bad now since I was in a town. Towns in the desert usually had a barrier surrounding the town to keep the heat regulated and the trespassers out. In fact, the only thing that got through the barrier was anything non-living, such as water and dead leaves, though the latter was rarer.

The only way to break through the barrier was with magic. Even then, you'd have to know what the barrier was made of and have more magical energy than the one who originally set the barrier up. Which was usually rare.

Then I noticed I was about to run into a door. At least I looked up in time, otherwise I would've run into something _again_ today. . .

I didn't bother to knock as I opened the door and went inside.

The lights were off in the house, and I heard no sounds except for the occasionally creaking as a small breeze stirred something.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice seeming a tad louder in the empty building.

No reply. No one home.

I grabbed the wireless phone from its stand near the staircase closer to the front door before I proceeded to enter the kitchen for a glass of water.

The numbers I tried to think of grew a bit fuzzy in my head as I tried to recall them.

I pressed a few numbers experimentally with one hand as I attempted to fill a glass with water with the other hand.

After three tries, I gave up and proceeded to drink the water, relishing the cool liquid as it hit my throat. I wondered if I was a tad dehydrated after walking through the desert. My ice magic had did nothing to help cool me; it just kept melting.

I filled another glass and drank that quickly before trying the phone again. This time, I remembered, and held the receiver to my ear as the phone began to ring.

Within two rings, someone picked up.

"Hello," they greeted. "Are you reporting your mission failure of the attempt of creating a dragon crystal?" Mission failure? How. . .

"Y-Yes," I answered. "H-How did you know I failed?"

"You see, so far. . ." they hesitated; I realized I wasn't sure who this was that picked up. "Everyone who called to report in their mission has failed. Some have managed a hundred attempts; others only managed about ten, and all have ended in failure, so it's likely everyone else did too. You're currently the fifty-eighth person."

"I-I see." Fifty-eight failures so far, with some having done this a hundred times in one month. . . "Who are you?"

"Wizard Lya," they answered.

"Thank you," I said. "What now?"

"Situation is dire," Lya said. As if I didn't know that. "It's been rumored that dragons are being hunted again, yet the higher ups are doing nothing. We're not sure why." What? What was going on? The higher ups always stressed the importance of preserving the remaining dragons. . . Did something happen?

"Luckily, there's no reports of a dragon being killed yet," Lya continued. "However, all mages are being advised to be wary of those who seem to be acting in suspicious ways and to detain those that seem to be attempting to hunt a dragon. And if you find a dragon, please, do your best to protect it."

The lava dragon in the volcano came to mind, but I said, "I will. By the way, are all dark dragons still. . ." I let the question linger.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

I pressed the red button to end the call, and began to think about what to do next.

Detain those that seemed to be attempting to hunt a dragon. . . That would be hard. Protect a dragon if found? Easier. Though, protecting large targets would prove to be a bit tough, but I would try my best.

But where was everyone? The house usually had at least some body in it. I didn't have time to search though, I had to go and protect some dragons.

If all dragons were to go extinct, would the Mother Dragon be angry and awaken from her slumber?

I shuddered to think about that as I made my way up to the attic. Aside from the usually stuff littered around the attic, there was not a single soul in here, so I made my way up to the rooftop with a ladder.

"Philan?" I called out, looking around for the familiar dark-lavender scales of the familiar dark dragon.

"_Here_," a voice in my head said.

"Here _where_?" I asked, looking around, before spying two pinpoints of red in the shadow of the chimney.

There was a low growling before the dark dragon slid out of his hiding place, lithe as a serpent.

"_Need to fly_?" Philan asked me, and I nodded.

"Say, where's everyone?" I asked him.

"_Not so loud_," he hissed, then answered, "_Dawn went off to find a group of dragons to protect. She's using her transformation magic to assume my form so they'll know it's her. I stayed behind because we both knew you'd probably prefer to fly rather than walk through the desert some more_." If dragons could chuckle into someone's head, Philan did so just now, and I shook my head.

"_Please don't do that in my head_," I said in my head, shaking it. A dragon's laugh or chuckle was like rolling thunder, and in your head, it was like being a mile away from the thunder. "_But thanks. Remind me to tell Dawno that as well. Anyone, let's fly to the cavern of crystals_."

Philan lowered to the ground, his belly scraping the rooftop, so I could get on his back. He looked over at me as I scrambled on, my hold slipping occasionally on his smooth scales. I settled on his back with a hold on one of the backwards spikes on his back, and looked to the north-east.

The cavern of crystals was an unofficial name given to a very hidden cave that housed some dragons. If anyone were to find them. . .

"_Readysetgo_." Philan immediately took off, catching me by surprise, and I let out a cry.

"Don't do that, you. . .!" I lightly struck Philan on his back. He let out a vocal chuckle. If I had hit him harder I probably would've broken my hand. Again.

As Philan flew over the town, I looked down, seeing looks of surprise. We weren't flying very high, about as high as a ten-floor building. As soon as the beings down below realized it was just Philan, they continued on with whatever they were doing.

There is a rumor that seems to be true about any and all dark dragons; kill one and their soul will devour your soul, slowly and painfully, thus making people think you were slowly becoming crazy. Which was why I was glad Philan was a dark dragon. . . Dark dragons are hell-bent on revenge.

"_Is there a riot going on_?" Philan asked.

"Hm?" I looked down and saw a small group of people. "_Philan, mobs are bigger_." He just snorted and flew down lower so we could see what had happened.

Seemed like someone had stabbed another person. The event was pretty much almost over as Philan and I arrived. I could see the gal who was stabbed; her dead body was being taken away to be buried somewhere, while some others were restraining the guy. There was a bloodied knife on the ground nearby.

Without warning, Philan dived down steeply, causing me to nearly lose my grip.

"What the hell are you doing?" I cried out, and crawled forward to cling to Philan's neck.

I nearly got speared by Philan's head spikes as he turned his head sideways as close as possible to me. In his mouth was the knife.

"And why'd you take this?" I asked, grabbing the knife carefully by the blade with a finger and a thumb.

"_Look at it, Legna, and tell me what it is_," Philan told me.

"Just slow down a bit," I muttered, as I held the knife up. Pretty hilt; gold and short, 'bout four inches in length, two wide, black gem imbedded near the guard. The guard was uneven on both sides, one longer than the other. Both ends had two cone-shapes pointing upward.

"Why would someone kill someone else with a dragon hunter's knife?" I asked. The knives were usually tipped with a poison made exclusively to kill a dragon. . . "Let's just get to the caves with the dragons in it, fast."

Philan nodded, and sped up and away from the town, through the barrier and out into the open desert.


	7. Chapter 6: The Dragon Sapphire

Divided Realms

**Chapter 6: The Dragon Sapphire**

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Have you ever flown? No? Yes?

Ever flown on a dragon before? It's similar to flying on the back of some large winged beast, except if you ask me, dragons are much more graceful fliers. They can also go at pretty fast speeds, making for a somewhat-exhilarating ride through the air. Just try not to fall or the dragon might not notice. They can't exactly feel everything with their scales.

"Almost there yet, Philan?" I asked. He growled in response, and motioned his head ahead of us to the right. In that direction below us was nothing but thick, heavy trees. We had left the desert behind about five minutes ago. I couldn't remember the name of the forest we were in, but the cavern where a small group of dragons lived in was hidden in the forest.

"_Prepare for landing_," Philan told me before he performed a quick descent. I had to hold on tightly, body pressed closely to Philan, or else I would've lost my grip.

My eyes were closed as Philan continued descending, faster and faster. We broke through the forest canopy at some point as I felt branches making contact with skin, scales and cloth. Some branches broke off as Philan crashed through them. There was a sudden stinging against my cheek, and I figured I got cut.

Soon it felt as if an earthquake happened, shaking both Philan and I as the dragon landed. I was shaken loose from Philan's back and fell onto the forest floor.

"Weren't you graceful at landings?" I grumbled, picking myself off the ground. There were various leaves and sticks caught in my clothes and hair, and I paused to remove the debris. My arms were covered in scratches, though nothing too bad, and my cheek stung.

Philan let out a rumbling growl as he looked around, ignoring me, then proceeded walking north. Ass.

Not saying another word, I followed the hulking plum north until we arrived at a large, mossy boulder, which Philan proceeded to sniff.

"Smell good?" I asked, kicking the boulder.

"_Smells like dragons_," Philan answered.

"So we're here? I've forgotten where the place was." Philan just nodded before he set his head against the boulder and began to push.

The boulder didn't budge.

"Uh, yeah, need help with that?" I poked the boulder, pulling away a bit of mos on my finger, which I shook off. "Yuck."

Then Philan let loose a loud roar, which probably would've rendered me death.

"Please warn me next time," I muttered.

"_'Least they heard me_," Philan said in response. "i_Unlike you, I can make myself heard_/i."

"Just because I can't roar like a dragon doesn't mean I can't make myself heard," I said back, then jumped back as the boulder moved. Philan took two steps back, which placed him behind me.

When the boulder was pushed aside, it revealed an entryway into a dark tunnel. It looked like it would swallow you up.

"Who pushed that aside?" I asked, not remembering my last visit here.

"_Dragon, with magic_i," Philan answered, then proceeded to walk in, and I followed.

The tunnel stank like mold and dragon droppings. Which isn't exactly that pleasant. Well, it wasn't that bad, at least.

It wasn't long before there was more light, and the tunnel widened. I could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

And then the tunnel suddenly expanded into a very large, spherical-looking cavern. The light was now brighter, which came from the various crystals that jutted out of the walls and ceiling of the cavern. There were numerous stalagmites and stalactites that sparkled with flecks of minerals. Various shelves jutted out from the cavern walls. The most amazing thing in the cavern were the various dragons that lounged around the cavern. They were lounging on shelves, crawling around the stalagmites and stalactites, and just sleeping on the floor.

"Yeah, I remember this," I whispered.

Some dragons turned to look at Philan and us, noticing our presence. One of them, a glittering dragon the color of the sky, came up to us. It was a thin, lithe creature that shimmered slightly in the light of the cavern, and its wings were almost translucent. A gem dragon. . .

"Some high-ranking mage has informed us of your arrival," the gem dragon hissed. All gem dragons hissed due to their thin throats. Their throats weren't _that_ thin, but thin enough. Such thin necks were to help the dragons shoot out their breath faster. Now that I thought about it, I had no idea what kind of breath gem dragons used. . .

"So I guess you were expecting us," I said, looking around.

"Yes. But we have a slight problem," the dragon said, looking around as well. "One of the dragons hiding here have gone missing when they went near the Dragon Sapphire."

"Really?" Philan growled.

"Yes, Philan," the gem dragon said, looking a bit surprised, though it was hard to tell. "You speak aloud very rarely." Philan just nodded.

"Do you want us to take a look at the Dragon Sapphire?" I asked.

"Yes, please." Turning around, the gem dragon headed towards the back of the cavern, Philan and I following suit.

Some dragons were looking at us, their suspicion clear. Obviously they weren't too trusting of any non-dragons, which meant me. Even if I was a mage who revered dragons.

In the back of the cavern was another tunnel, darker than the one we had first went through. At least I wasn't afraid of the dark. . .

With no hesitation, the gem dragon entered the tunnel, hissing, "Watch your step."

"Wanna hold my tail?" Philan teased.

"No thanks," I responded, "but please tell me if you're gonna stop." Philan just snorted, and I still had to wonder why Dawn had to share a body with _this_ dragon.

As we proceeded deeper and deeper in, I became aware of a faint dripping sound. It grew louder and louder as we went further in. So, were we going to end up in a cavern full of water?

In front of us, I noticed a faint, blue glow. It tinged everything blue; Philan, the gem dragon, the cavern walls, me, everything. Was this the Dragon Sapphire?

"We are here," the gem dragon hissed, entering a spherical cavern. "This cavern is a perfect circle, and it has been that way ever since."

In the middle of the cavern was a large, teardrop-shaped sapphire, a very deep and lovely blue. A faint blue glow radiated from the gem, filling the entire cavern with nothing but blue. Everything I saw was a steady blue.

"You should close your eyes, Legna," the gem dragon said, looking over at me. "Unless you prefer to slowly lose your sight?"

"Then how would I be of any help then. . ." I muttered, closing my eyes.

"Use your magic, duh," Philan told me.

So I did. It was like watching a set of three-dimensional blueprints being projected in front of you, the lines light blue and against a darker blue background. I didn't have too much practice with seeing with magic, so I couldn't get too much detail, nor color.

"Most dragons refuse to approach the Dragon Sapphire now," the gem dragon said. "They are afraid of disappearing as well. However, they don't believe it when the only witness to the disappearance said that the dragon touched the gem before disappearing."

"Then I guess we don't touch it," I said. "But why would the Dragon Sapphire make some being disappear?"

The Dragon Sapphire was seen as a source of power for Dynas and the Mother Dragon. No one would dare to destroy such a gem, no matter what happened. Sure, it could be moved, but if it was destroyed, who knows what would happen. . . It was said that destruction of gems such as the Dragon Sapphire would slowly kill the planet until there was nothing left. . . Thus, these gems were seen as a source of life, not. . . disappearances.

"Hey Legna," Philan said, butting me with his head and effectively knocking me over. "I dare you to follow the disappearing dragon and see what happened to him."

"Um, what?" I was not going to touch the Dragon Sapphire and possibly die.

"You heard me."

"Philan, quit fooling around," the gem dragon hissed. "There is a possibility the Dragon Sapphire effectively wiped the dragon out of existence, thus killing him."

"Yeah, I'm not touching that," I muttered.

Philan growled a bit. "I don't believe that touching the Dragon Sapphire would've done that. There's a very, very slight distortion I'm picking up from the Dragon Sapphire. Couldn't you feel that?" Nope.

"Hm. . ." The gem dragon got dangerously close to the Dragon Sapphire. "You are right, I didn't actually get too close, on account of the disappearance that happened, but I can feel it. It is very faint, but. . ."

"Do you think it might be. . ." Philan didn't finish his sentence. Might be what?

"Possibly," the gem dragon mused.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It might be a wormhole," Philan answered.

"A. . . what?" Wormhole? I might have heard of it before but otherwise, I knew next to nothing about it. Hopefully it wasn't full of worms though. . .

"Wormholes, Legna," the gem dragon began, "are seen as portals to other worlds. They allow one being to enter a wormhole and exit out through another in a completely different world, sometimes in a completely different universe.

"Some wormholes are permanent and can be used all the time," he continued. Or it. "Others, however, disappear after awhile and reappear in an entirely new place on the world it was located upon. All planets have a certain number of wormholes, and that number doesn't change, unless the world disappears."

"So, we can travel between worlds then?" I asked, curious about how this worked.

"Yes. There is a chance of being stranded, however," the dragon warned. "And some who have traveled to another world have gone through either two fates; they stay on the planet they traveled to, or they cannot find a wormhole back home."

"Wait, so they become stranded then?"

"Yes. Just because a planet will have a certain number of wormholes always does not mean they will lead to the same place." The gem dragon looked at the Dragon Sapphire before continuing. "If you're unlucky, the wormhole you used to travel to one world will end up disappearing on you when you need it to come back home." Yeah, no way was I going to touch the Dragon Sapphire now.

Philan began to circle the Dragon Sapphire. "I remember Dawn telling me that about more than half of Dynas's wormholes are permanent and very stable. If you go into one, then you'll probably be able to come back." Still not convinced there.

"I'm not going," I said. "I mean, I don't even know how these work. . ."

Philan sighed loudly. It sounded more like growling though. "There's very few non-dragon beings that ever come to these caverns, you know. And you know the situation with the dragons thus far. I'd like it if Dawn could go through, but. . . You know."

I growled a bit and said, "Fine. . . I'll go but if I don't come back, you're responsible for this."

"I know. Hopefully Dawn won't kill me for sending her child to another world." Philan snorted.

"Hope she does," I muttered before I approached the crystal.

"Farewell, Legna," the gem dragon hissed, and backed up as far as he could until his or her back was against the wall. Philan did the same.

"Well, here goes. . ." I whispered. "Bye." My hand touched the Dragon Sapphire, cool to the touch.

The world was darkening, twisting before my eyes, before it all became black.


	8. Chapter 7: Serdin's Fall

**Author's Note**: And thus begins the crossing over.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 7: Serdin's Fall**

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**I sat atop the highest point of Serdin castle, watching the battle below. Well, it was more like a miniature war that consisted of Serdin kingdom versus monsters. A very large army of monsters. It was as if they wanted to take Serdin for some reason. . . I would be fighting right now if it weren't for the fact that I was taking a break. That, and I broke my arm. . . Luckily it was currently healing thanks to the Violet Mage Guild's healers.

"Lass!" Arme called from below. It took me a minute to spot her.

"Yeah, Arme?" I called back.

"Get the hell down here!" she yelled at me.

Arme. . . She's so temperamental. . . But I still loved her, even if she might kill me.

Doing as she ordered, I jumped down, nearly breaking my leg this time. Ow.

"Lass, really. . ." Arme grumbled before checking my leg.

"Sorry Arme," I said, then glanced down. "How's the fighting going on?"

"Tiring," Arme answered. "And the monsters are still coming strong. It's like there's no end to those fucking things. . ."

"It's like they want this castle for some reason," I said.

"I wonder what the intention is. . ." Arme glanced down at the wave of monsters approaching the castle. Maybe it was a coincidence, but this happened only two hours after the one guy at this one town stabbed this one girl. I only knew what Arme told me.

"Wanna take some out, Arme?" I asked her.

Arme just shrugged, then she muttered something before picking up her war staff.

"Hey bastards!" Arme cried out, earning her a few looks from both the monsters and the warriors protecting Serdin. "I mean the monsters. . . Eat this!"

Arme's war staff began to glow a bit white, which changed to red, and she cried out "Deep Impact!"

From the skies, large, red, flaming meteors came crashing down upon the monsters. It also flattened a few trees.

"Uh. . ."

"Just a few trees," Arme muttered. "Holy hell. . ." I noticed her eyes widened, which wasn't something you saw Arme do that often, so I looked where she was looking to see what had gotten this reaction out of her.

Without the trees blocking the way, we could see an enormous gathering of monsters. In fact, it seemed like many of them were hidden from view, so how many were there?

"Wait here, Arme," I said, and was about to run to check how the perimeter looked from all sides when Arme stopped me.

"Tell me what you're trying to do," Arme demanded.

"I was gonna take a look around the castle from up here," I told her.

"Wait here," she said, then teleported away. If I tried to move now, most likely Arme would scold me. I still shuddered at early memories when she used to fry me with Firestorms and various other spells. Sometimes I wondered if Arme was a tad sadistic. . .

It was a few minutes before Arme came back.

"There's so many. . ." Arme said, panting slightly.

With one arm, I pulled her close. "How far?"

"It's like all the monsters in Bermesiah amassed at Serdin. . ." Arme paused. "And then some." My heart nearly skipped a beat.

"So now what?" I asked calmly.

"We run."

Now my throat felt like something got caught in it, and I coughed a few times.

"I-I'm sorry, but. . . What?" I nearly gaped at Arme. If she was telling me that we run, then she was telling me that it was hopeless, and Arme. . .

"On the way back, I saw smoke," Arme said. "It came in the direction of the town that is near this castle, and so I decided to use a bit of magic to see what happened. What I saw was that the town was in ruins, destroyed. The town's citizens are either dead or have fled.

"And then I saw another town." Arme paused before continuing, closing her eyes. "That town is in shambles. It is in ruins. People are alive, but. . ."

"B-But what?" I asked, dread filling me. "What?"

"It. . . It seems like a large band of humans are coming this way," Arme whispered. "But don't get your hopes up. The monsters aren't attacking the humans. I hate to say this but. . . but it seems that those humans and the monsters are working together to take Serdin castle."

I couldn't speak. Was this a rebellion? Were our efforts futile then? Monsters, we could handle, though they may overwhelm us in the end. But. . . humans? Sure, I could handle taking some down, but. . .

"Arme, what is Serdin's future, do you think?" I asked, holding her closer.

"Serdin is doomed, Lass," Arme whispered. "Half of the Violet Mage Guild is overwhelmed, and the rest have fled. And the Silver Cross Assassins are nowhere to be seen. . . And the monsters keep coming. . . Damn them all. . ." Her last words were said with a tinge of malice in them that nearly made me shudder.

"So. . ." I gulped. "We run?"

"Yes."

"What do we tell the Queen?"

"Nothing."

I stared at Arme. "Tell the Queen of Serdin _nothing_?"

Arme looked at me, her amethyst eyes staring straight into mine, making me slightly uncomfortable. "I forgot to mention. The Queen died." Well. . . Great.

"When?" I asked, suddenly feeling like losing it. First the monsters, then the news of humans banding with monsters, now this?

"While I was taking a look around." Arme pulled away from me. "She was being devoured by a pack of monsters, a group of knights watching. I could only assume that the knights were traitors, so I decided to freeze them all to death."

"And. . . why did you not mention this sooner?" I asked, trying not to think any longer. So Serdin was doomed, huh? Great.

"Well. . . You can blame shock on that one."

Deep in Arme's eyes, I could see the despair, I could see the sadness, I could see the anger and hatred. . .

I picked up Arme quickly, trying to ignore the remnants of pain in my almost-healed arm. Arme let out a quick sound of surprise as I held her in my arms. "Lass!"

"Sorry, I'll warn you next time." If there would be a next time.

The wave of monsters seemed to have broken through the castle's defenses just now as I saw people running back towards the castle. Hope was indeed lost now.

"I love you," I whispered to Arme before I leaped down. Arme let out a cry right in my ear, nearly deafening me as we fell.

"How's your arm?" Arme asked me.

"Great," I lied, wincing slightly as I ran straight towards the mob of monsters.

"Liar," Arme whispered in my ear, then proceeded to hug my neck tightly, though not tightly enough to cut off my oxygen supply.

The closest monster in front of us, a Gashimon of all things, lumbered towards us. This must be one of the "and then some" Arme had mentioned.

"Groar," the Gashimon went as it came towards us.

"Ugly asshole," I muttered as I jumped onto its head, my landing perfectly avoiding its spikes. Its head was my springboard, which I used to leap over a large mob of monsters. My next target was a giant mushroom, its orange head rushing up towards us. My feet made contact with the semi-squishy monster and I nearly couldn't jump off of it.

"Lass, you're crazy!" Arme cried, holding on tighter.

"At least it's working!" I replied, then heard a screech.

While in the air, I looked up to see a harpy with its claws extended; it was coming straight for us.

"Arme! Help!" I yelled.

Arme looked up to see the harpy and shot a fireball at it, effectively setting the birdy's feathers on fire.

"Nice shot!" I cried.

"Incoming!" Arme yelled.

I looked forward and nearly cried out as I saw large blob of gelatinous slime flying right towards us, its big orange eyes twinkling with malice and triumph.

As quickly as I could, I shifted my hold on Arme and took out a dagger, which I used to stab the slime with. It split into two, splattering bits of slime gunk on the two of us.

"Euch, Lass!" Arme cried as I spat out a bit of slime.

"At least it didn't hit us squarely?" I said, cringing at the taste of slime, which was like rancid jelly, on my tongue. This taste was so not getting out of my mouth any time soon. . .

The rest of our escape wasn't too eventful; some monsters tried to stop us but failed. One monster, however, managed to yank Arme's hair-clip out painfully, judging by her loud cry of pain. It's a wonder I wasn't deaf yet. . .

As soon as we made it past the mob of monsters, I ran as fast as I could towards the land of Kanavan.

By the time I entered Kanavan land, and a town, I was panting really hard, and I nearly dropped Arme.

Arme slipped out of my grasp as she stood and asked, "How are you feeling, Lass?"

"Fine. . ." I huffed. "Never better!" I coughed a bit.

"Maybe we can rest in there," Arme said, pointing at a building that looked like an inn or something.

"Great idea," I said, and followed Arme into the building.

"Grand Chase," Arme said to the man behind the counter. He gave Arme a key without saying a word, and Arme headed up the stairs.

I proceeded to follow her up the stairs, where she led me to the third floor and the end of the hallway. Geez Arme, I just got through running from Serdin to Kanavan. . .

The key Arme was given clicked into the lock perfectly, and the two of us entered the room. It seemed a bit dull to me, a brownish color scheme. A lone desk with a lone chair sat in one corner of the room while a nightstand and a candle sat between two tidy-looking beds.

Arme plopped down on one bed, facing the single window. I sat down next to her. At least the window wasn't dirty.

"I can't believe Serdin has fallen," she whispered sadly.

Once again, I held Arme close to me as I said, faking hope, "Maybe the guys we abandoned at the castle will drive the monsters back somehow?"

"No, there is no hope for them," Arme told me. "There is no hope for Serdin. . ."

"What do we do now, Arme?" I asked.

"I. . . I don't know," she answered. "I. . . I think we should go and talk to the King of Kanavan."

I groaned loudly at the thought, and Arme shot me a look that said "Yeah I know but what else could we do?"

"Wanna go in a mi-" I started before I was interrupted by a loud noise. "Okay, what the hell was that?"

"It sounded like a monster roaring," Arme answered. "Though, I don't think I've ever heard one like that before."

"Yeah, me neither. Wanna go see?"

"Fine by me."

The two of us immediately left the inn just in time to witness something large and monstrous flying over the town.

"What the hell is that?" Arme cried in surprise.

"A-A wyrm?" I answered, remembering Starkiln's wyrm. Though, it looked bluer.

"That couldn't have been a wyrm! Is it a dragon of some sort?" Arme didn't let me say anything else before she set off running in the direction of the flying creature. Yay.

I followed as best as I could, but seeing as how I ran who-knows-how-long, I was a bit lagging, but I managed to keep Arme in sight. Until she began teleporting.

I resisted the urge to sigh as I struggled to keep up. Hopefully Arme didn't turn anywhere, or I was screwed.

Luckily, she didn't. Or rather, the dragon didn't. I think it was a dragon, it reminded me of Ronan's dragon, except this one was more blue. And slender. And. . . weird. Kinda.

The dragon was a light-blue with these large, thin wings that you could almost see through. There were two large spikes sticking out from behind the dragon's head, and its eyes were, oddly, purely a light-blue color, sorta darker than its scales though. And Arme was petting it.

"Oh jeez," I muttered as I came up, completely out of breath. "Arme. . ."

"I. . . I think its dying. . ." Arme whispered. Arme showing sympathy for a non-human? That was. . . Okay, that wasn't _terribly_ surprising but the dragon looked like it could have bitten something off if it wanted to!

"Uh, well, anything we could do for it?" I asked, a bit wary.

"I. . . I don't think so," Arme answered, sounding a bit sad.

The dragon seemed to look at Arme pleadingly. Maybe Arme noticed, as she looked at the dragon's face then. Then the dragon moved its head towards a cave nearby; Gorgos' Lair. It seemed like the dragon was trying to move towards it but was too weak for it. Then I noticed what it was dying of; a spear was imbedded in its chest. . . Who would do such a thing!

"Is. . . there something in there?" Arme asked the dragon, though I doubted the dragon could understand her.

To my surprise, it did as it moved its head up and down, nodding. It let out a low rumble and laid its head on the ground. It looked so sad. . .

"Into the Gorgos' Lair?" I looked into the entrance.

One day, the Grand Chase had accidentally cause a partial cave-in, effectively reducing the size of the Lair to nothing more than a small cavern. Now, I'm not going to say it was my fault for provoking both Elesis _and_ Sieghart, but. . . Uh. . . Yeah, it was my fault.

"Let's go," Arme said, and led the way in. It was pretty dark in here; the sun was, by now, behind the Lair. Luckily, Arme lit a fireball for us to see. And we saw someone lying on the ground.

I think it was a guy. Yeah, definitely a guy. Unless this was a flat-chested female. Or maybe it was the light.

His (or her?) hair looked rusty-colored in the fireball's light, with a bit of yellow in it. There was a big wooden stick on. . . their back, and it looked like it was held there by one of the two belts they wore. Who wears two belts? Then I saw some stuff being held by the belts. Okay, maybe they served a purpose. This person's clothes were mostly red and yellow and brown, too. And why did they have these. . . scarf. . . cloth things on their arms? And these. . . thingies on their wrist? Odd.

"Do you think the dragon was trying to get to him?" Arme asked me. Okay, it's a guy. How does Arme know this?

"I dunno," I answered honestly. Maybe the dragon was hungry as it lay dying.

"Should we wake him?" I asked.

"Yes."

I took out a dagger.

"Lass!" Arme cried.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Put that away, _now_," Arme demanded.

"O-Okay, okay. . ." Jeez, Arme couldn't take a joke sometimes!

As I put the dagger away, Arme came up to the guy and prodded him in his side with her finger, the fireball sadly far above Arme's head.

"Hey, wake up, you," Arme said. "Wake up, dammit!" Uh, better wake up before Arme kills you.

Arme pulled the guy's staff out and used it to prod him. "Wake. Up!"

Finally the guy let out a small groan before rolling onto his stomach, basically face-planting the floor. Then he got up into a sitting position, keeping his eyes closed. Or maybe opened just a very thin slit.

"What happened. . ." he asked. Definitely a guy. Unless Arme was wrong. The guy's voice seemed just a few pitches away from being female.

"You're in the Gorgos' Lair," Arme answered. "Something probably took you here to eat you later, but a dragon wants to see you."

Hopefully whatever took this guy in here wouldn't come back anytime soon and eat _us_.

Though, I heard monsters usually didn't come near the Gorgos' Lair any longer after we kinda made the place cave-in on itself.


	9. Chapter 8: The Ice Dragon

**Author's Note**: If I write while I'm cold, I might write funnily. And put weird stuff. Yeah.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 8: The Ice Dragon**

**

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**Did I hear that right? A _dragon_? I tried to stand up but I nearly fell over. A wave of nausea hit me. Did. . . the wormhole actually work? But where was I exactly? Gorgos? What's a Gorgos?

"I. . ." I took a deep breath as I tried to steady myself. "Can I see the dragon?" I opened up my eyes so I could see where I was.

The two people who found me were a purple-haired female and a white-haired male. Kind of odd hair colors. I'd comment about their eyes, but my eyes were just as odd. The two seemed to think that as well when they saw my eyes.

"Erm, is there something wrong with your eyes?" the white-haired male asked.

"No," I answered. "Is there something wrong with _yours_?"

"Of course there's not!" he replied, seemingly offended. "They're perfectly normal! But yours are like a. . . a. . . cat!"

"Lass, don't be rude," the purple-haired female said, scolding the male. Lass? What kind of name was _Lass_? Especially for a male. . .

Then I realized that the purple-haired female had my staff.

"Um, excuse me, miss," I said. "Could I have my staff back?"

"That's a staff?" the male named Lass asked.

"Yes," I answered, glaring at him. He diverted his gaze, looking uneasy.

"First, tell me who you are," the female demanded.

"I. . . I'll tell you if you tell me where we are," I answered.

"We're in a placed called Gorgos' Lair," she answered.

"I know that much, I mean. . . What's the name of this. . . land-mass," I tried asking instead.

The female sighed, her purple locks swaying slightly. "We're on the continent of Bermesiah. Is that all?"

Bermesiah? Looked like I _was_ on another world. Now hopefully I could get back as soon as I find the missing dragon, which may be the one that disappeared.

"Hey!" the female cried. "Answer me or I snap your staff!" Was she really going to snap it in half? She didn't seem capable of.

"Um. . . What's the name of this planet?" I asked.

"Why?" She looked at me suspiciously, apparently unfazed by my eyes, unlike the Lass.

"I. . . I think I'm very lost and confused and unaware of my surroundings," I answered. Truthfully, I just wanted to know so I could ask the gem dragon about all this later.

"Well, we just call this planet 'the world'," she answered, looking at me curiously. How. . . original.

"T-Thanks," I said. I considered lying about my name, in case.

"Now, your name?" the female demanded.

"My name is. . . Ley," I lied. Well, semi-lied, since it was half my name, if said aloud.

"That sounds like a female name," Lass remarked, snickering a bit.

Before I could say anything, the female responded, "You know 'Lass' is also the word for a girl?"

"Arme. . ." Lass whined.

"Your name is. . . Arme?" I looked at the female oddly.

"It's spelled A-r-m-e," she said, glaring at me. "And if you remark about how my name sounds, I will Firestorm your ass off." Touchy.

"I. . . won't," I told her, trying to take a look past her. The entrance to this place wasn't that far off, and I could see a mass of blue against a sky of orange.

"Is that the dragon?" I asked. It. . . looked like an ice dragon, judging by its blue coloration.

"Yeah, it is," Arme answered, looking back. "Better get out there before it dies."

"Die?" Alarmed, I pushed past the two and ran outside, then stopped. Everything seemed kind of weird. There was no hint of familiarity around. I was definitely on a different planet.

But then I ignored the lack of familiarity and walked up to the dragon, who was really dying. . . I felt despair deep down as I knelt by its head and placed a hand on its muzzle.

The ice dragon let out a low growl that had a mix of sadness and pain in it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to it. The dragon just responded by letting out a low hiss that sounded like a balloon slowly deflating.

I felt the tears welling up as I buried my face into its scales. Who cares if that wasn't comfortable, I just. . . couldn't believe that the dragon was dying. . . What would I do when I went back? And how could I even take the dragon back to Dynas, to give it a proper death ceremony by the dragons. . .

"_Please don't cry for me_," the ice dragon told me, but I couldn't help it.

"How could I not," I whispered to it as I gently stroked its cheek.

"_You shouldn't mourn for me. You have bigger things to worry about than a dying dragon_," the ice dragon said. "_You should worry about finding your way back home. At least let the others know that they couldn't have done anything for me, no matter how soon they tried. Only mere minutes upon arriving here, I flew out, unaware of the dangers I would be subjected to. And because of that recklessness, that carelessness, I became wounded and poisoned. Please, don't take revenge_."

I just whispered, "If you wish," and laid a hand on the scales above its eye.

The ice dragon let out a low growl again. "_Do you wish to bring me back to Dynas som__ehow_?"

"I. . ." I wondered if the ice dragon could read my thoughts. "Yeah. . . But I can't carry you back."

"_Then please fulfill my dying wish_." The ice dragon's voice seemed to be weakening.

"I will."

Then with some sort of new-found strength, the ice dragon raised its head and let out a heartbreaking roar. It sounded as if the ice dragon was crying for the loss of its life, of never being able to see its dragonmates ever again, to never see its home ever again. It was mourning for itself where other dragons could not mourn for it.

I heard a small cry of surprise and when I looked towards the source, I noticed that the two had been watching for who-knows-how-long. Hopefully I spoke too softly for them to hear.

Then the female, Arme, let out a cry. Apparently the first cry of surprise was from the male, Lass.

"Run!" Arme cried. What? Why?

Then I turned back to the ice dragon. It seemed to be staring right at me, which caused me to quickly stumble back. However, I was sitting so I ended up falling backwards. I stood up quickly just as the dragon let out another roar and lunged right at me. What was it doing?

I held up my arms, covering my face, though I knew it was useless against a lunging dragon. Though ice dragons weren't that heavy compared to most other dragon species, ice dragons were definitely heavier than a normal person.

Did it make contact with me? All I felt was an icy-cold blast of air that nearly knocked me off my feet. My body seemed to grow colder and colder and I couldn't help but shiver. What happened? What did it do?

Wait, what was the ice dragon's dying wish? It never told me!

"_Show them the dragon magic and they will understand_," I heard. Dragon magic? I couldn't use dragon magic. . . Unless. . . it gave me. . . its magic.

"Hey, are you okay?" I heard.

I looked up to see Arme kneeling by me, looking a bit concerned. I realized I had fallen to my hands and knees at one point, though I didn't know when.

"Its like the dragon disappeared," Lass noted.

"It _did_ disappear!" Arme said, and stood up.

Shakily, I managed to stand up and look around. The ice dragon was nowhere to be seen. It was. . . gone.

I blinked numerous times to keep the new tears away.

"But why'd it try to attack Ley?" Arme wondered. Ley?

"Who's. . ." I started before remembering that I had given them that fake name.

"Hey Ley, you should get home," Lass said, glancing to his left. When I followed his gaze, I noticed that the sun was almost completely hidden by the horizon.

"Yeah, I should." But how?

"Where do you live?" Arme asked me.

"Um, nowhere nearby," I answered.

"Where then?"

"Uh." What would I answer?

"How far?" Lass asked me.

"Very," I said.

Arme took a look around. "Well, it'd be dark by the time you get back home then, I'm willing to bet." Not if I figured out where the wormhole was in that Gorgos' Lair.

I started to head back towards the Lair when Lass stopped me. "Where you going?"

"Uh, there." I pointed at the Gorgos' Lair.

"Yeah right," Arme said and began to pull me towards the town. "_No one_ lives in the Gorgos' Lair, not even a single monster."

Maybe it'd be best to come back when there was no one to stop me, so I just let myself be taken to wherever this girl was taking me. I'd probably have to ask for directions later. . .

"Uh, Arme?" Lass ran up next to Arme.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Isn't the Gorgos' Lair a part of Serdin kingdom? Or. . . used to?"

Arme shook her head. "For whatever reason, the Queen of Serdin had given parts of her kingdom to Kanavan. No one's too sure why, and many people had objected, but it happened."

"Huh."

Serdin and Kanavan. . . So this continent named Bermesiah had two kingdoms at the least. I wondered how large this continent was, and what other continents there were.

Soon a small town became visible, which was apparently our destination.

Arme still didn't let me go as the three of us entered what appeared to be an inn.

"Innkeeper. We need another room," Arme said to a dark-haired man. "I'll pay for it." She deposited a few odd-looking gold coins in the man's hands, who gave Arme a dull-silver key.

Then Arme proceeded to drag me up the stairs, Lass following.

Soon we reached a door on the third floor.

"You're staying here," Arme said, and finally let me go.

"Have fun, kid," Lass said, snickering a bit.

"Lass, you're staying with him." Arme gave Lass a key, who looked bewildered.

"Wait, why me?" Lass cried.

"What, you want _me_ to stay with him?"

"Er, no, but _why_?"

Arme just answered with a slight glare before heading off.

Then Lass glared at me as soon as Arme was out of sight, like it was my fault.

Lass kicked the door open, unsuccessfully breaking it, then motioned for me to get in.

Quaint little room. At least there were two beds.

Then I realized something and swore softly. I forgot to get my staff back from Arme.


	10. Chapter 9: Legna, Not Ley

**Author's Note**: I forgot how I was gonna end this chapter. . . And couldn't think of a chapter name 'ere. Also changed category; this story, upon thinking about it, is NOT a crossover of RO really. And I don't think there's a misc. category for crossover, though I might be wrong. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 9: Legna, Not Ley**

**

* * *

**Man, why did I have to watch over this guy? Sure, I would've had an easier time keeping watch but still, I wanted to snuggle with Arme tonight. . . Especially after all that happened today. I mean, first the fall of Serdin castle (and most likely the kingdom itself) and then finding this guy, and then that dragon. Ugh.

I heard Ley muttering something to himself. It sounded like gibberish.

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"Nothing," he answered, followed by a loud thump.

"And what was that?"

"My book." His book? Oh, he _did_ have a book hanging from his belt. Who wears two belts anyway?

"What's your book about?" I asked, trying to be nice. Arme would've liked that.

"It's just a spell book, you wouldn't be able to read it," he told me.

"Try me!" I cried. Just for fun, Arme had taught me how to read some of the books she read that seemed to have numerous complicated words and symbols in them. Her books usually detailed different spells and experiments.

"No, you really wouldn't be able to." As he bent down to pick up the book, I immediately ran over to snatch it. "Hey!"

"Just lemme see," I mumbled as I opened the pages. The binding felt like old leather and seemed to be pretty used.

I hated to admit it, but I really couldn't read it. What were all these symbols? They looked like nothing that I'd seen when reading with Arme. I wondered if she would be able to read it?

Ley snatched the book out of my hands as I tried to make sense of it. "Told you."

"Is that a book full of gibberish?" I asked.

"They're just runes," he answered.

"What. Those do _not_ look like any runes _I've_ ever seen," I said. If he made any remark about my intelligence, I wouldn't be able to guarantee Arme that this guy would be safe by tomorrow.

"Because if you haven't, then no one else would," Ley said.

"Oh, I get it," I said, hoping I _did_ get it. "Those runes must be seen only in another continent, like Xenia!"

"Erm, yeah, sure." Then Ley threw his book against the wall, which surprised me a bit.

"Uh, why did you. . ." I let the question trail off.

"It won't break," he answered, as if that helped. Maybe if you threw it enough times, it would!

"'Night." Ley threw the pillow that was on the bed he was sitting on at me. Luckily, I managed to catch it before it hit me.

"Hmph." I threw the pillow at the door as I slipped under the covers of the other bed. Maybe he hated pillows or something. . . Oh well, not my problem.

At least my sleep was uneventful.

When I woke up however, I noticed that one thing was missing; Ley.

Great, Arme was gonna kill me! Well, maybe not _kill_ but she'd probably scold me at the least. And that included a bit of burning or staff-whacking, which really hurts. . .

I noticed that Ley's book was gone, though. Guess he remembered about it before leaving.

Before I head down the stairs, I made sure to lock the door to the room. Maybe Arme and I would come back later. . .

I made my way downstairs quickly and was about to leave the inn when I heard a familiar voice call my name.

Arme waved at me from a table near the corner of the room. Sitting across from her looking irritated was Ley. Well, at least Arme caught him.

"Nice catching him, Arme," I said as I came over.

"Actually, he went looking for me," Arme told me. Odd. "He forgot his staff."

"Oh." I managed to sneak a glare directed at Ley. "How'd you get away so quietly?"

"You snore," Ley told me. I do not!

"Yeah well. . ." I started before Arme said, "Shut up, the both of you. Now, are you sure you don't remember _anything_ about where you live, Legna?"

"Wait, Legna?" I stared at Arme.

"Oh, that's his actual name," Arme explained. "I figured he was lying since Ley is a female name, typically. I didn't feel like trying to get him to say his real name at the time though." Oh.

I sat down in a creaky wooden chair as Legna said, "I told you I don't know where Xenia, Silver Land, Ellia, or whatever, is!"

"However, you said you said that you didn't live in Bermesiah either," Arme replied. "You can't possibly live in Alcubra nor Archimedia either due to the fact that currently, those two continents are uninhabited by human beings. And no method of transportation goes anywhere else! Which means you must live in either Ellia, Silver Land, or Xenia. But obviously you don't remember. Whatever monster took you there must have done something to your memory or something."

Was it me or did it seem like Legna seemed a bit doubtful of what Arme said? But that doubt disappeared as he just answered, "Maybe. I've never been to Bermesiah before."

"Well, maybe we can help you remember at least." Arme paused to think. "And give you a tour of half of Bermesiah. The other half. . . belongs to monsters." I could see the anger in Arme's eyes.

"What. . . kind of monsters are there?" Legna asked.

"Oh, goblins, harpies, slimes, mushmons," Arme answered casually. "Most of them are pretty weak though, but in mobs, they can be pretty. . . overwhelming."

Now Legna had a look of confusion on his face as he seemed to say to himself the names of the monsters. It looked like he might have said, "Mushmons. . . Mushrooms. . . Monsters. . ." Obviously mushmons are mushroom monsters.

"Arme, where's the others right now?" I asked.

"Um, I think they're at Kanavan castle right now," Arme answered. "I know Elesis and Ronan are there; I've heard that the guard has doubled on the King's orders. Jin and Amy are just there to help while Sieghart. . . He's probably just being a lazy bastard."

I chuckled softly to myself, though I wouldn't dare laugh at Sieghart; he'd flay me given the chance. That old guy still gave me nightmares. To many, he's a hero and a legend. To me, he's a scary monster, even worse than the worst monster I've seen.

"Can't I just wander?" Legna asked. "I mean, I'm sure to remember something if I just wander around."

"Not a chance. If you run into a monster, you'll probably be dead meat," Arme said. "Bermesiah's starting to become overrun by monsters. I didn't realize how bad it was until Serdin castle fell to monsters." Arme picked up a glass of water a server placed at the table. I decided to take a small drink from mine.

"I'll be fine," Legna insisted.

"I don't mean to be rude, but you look as if you couldn't even hold up a weapon, minus this. . . staff." I noticed then that Arme still had that guy's staff. Which looked like a big stick. "At the very least, come with Lass and I to Kanavan castle so we can at least try and help you figure out where you lived. Plus, it seems like you don't even know what the monsters are like here. I'd hate to see what would happen if you ran into a Lich."

"Uh, Arme?" I wanted to mention one thing to her.

"I know, I know." Arme held up a hand at me as she spoke. "If you see a black-robed Lich, it _might_ be benevolent. Of course, other Liches could easily disguise itself with black so I wouldn't trust any of them."

"Necromancers?" Legna looked curious about the Lich.

"Yeah, they raise the dead," Arme explained.

"I know. Are there other necromancer practitioners?" he asked.

"Not that I know of," Arme answered, then she looked a bit suspicious. "Why?"

"Just curious," was the answer. I didn't exactly like necromancers. . . I mean, raising the dead? _Reviving_ them?

"Well, whatever, if we want to make a good start, we need to leave like, now," Arme said, and stood up, still holding Legna's staff-stick. Was Arme holding it hostage so the guy couldn't use magic? But then that made me wonder about the book.

"Say, Arme." I decided to walk next to her.

"Walk in front of us," Arme said to Legna, then turned to me. "Yeah?"

"He. . ." I paused. "I think he can use magic with just a book, like Mari."

"No biggy." Arme just shrugged as she watched Legna walk ahead of us. "If he pulls out his book, we can stop him. Plus, it looks like he hooked it onto his belt so it'd take a bit of time to pull it out."

"Okay then." For some reason, I didn't feel all that reassured. But at least he didn't have his staff anymore. Right? Right. Besides, if he tried to run, I'd catch him, easy.

We made our way out of town fairly quickly, with no attempts of escape from Legna so far, which was good. If he tried anything funny, I'd make sure he wouldn't try again.

"How do you think the others are doing?" I asked Arme.

"Probably busy," she answered. "That new king. . . I'm not really keen about him. . ."

"Yeah, me neither."

"I wonder who'll be his successor?"

I looked alarmingly at Arme. "Uh, Arme. . .?"

"I'm just curious," she answered, shrugging. "I mean, kings and queens should choose a successor ahead of time in case something happens. We don't want the kingdom to be left without a king or queen, do we?"

"I guess. . ." I answered uneasily. "Um, do you think we should go scouting the uh. . . What's left of Serdin? Just you, me, Elesis, Ronan, Jin, Amy, and Sieghart?"

"Maybe we could exterminate all those monsters," Arme said. "And maybe rebuild Serdin."

"Arme, that's a bit much, don't you think?" I kicked at a stray stick as I spoke. "I mean, a whole kingdom? How long do you think that'll take?"

"We could try," Arme said softly. "At least. . . At least there's numerous survivors of Serdin. . ." Arme looked down, sad.

I pulled Arme close to me, in case she decided to start crying again. It was rare to see her cry, but I guess having the kingdom she lived in become pretty much destroyed did something to a person. Hopefully nothing _too_ bad happens in Ellia. . .

"What's he doing?" Arme asked.

"Huh?" I looked ahead, forgetting about Legna. I realized then that all three of us had stopped walking, Arme and I sooner than Legna had, so he had gotten ahead of us a bit.

Legna seemed to be gazing up at the sky, seemingly motionless. Then he brought his hands up to his head, holding it. He shook his head slightly as Arme and I came up to him.

"What are you doing?" Arme demanded.

"I. . . Head hurts." Legna didn't sound like he was in pain or anything.

"Liar, what are you doing? Tell me before I break your staff!" Looked like Arme was feeling better. Or at least forgot about our talk of Serdin, for now.

"I thought I heard something," he said softly, not turning around. He shook his head again as he let his hands drop to his side.

"I heard nothing," I said, wondering what he had heard.

"Me neither. Well, maybe just the wind," Arme said. "Now keep walking, we need to get going." She gave the guy a shove from behind, and he nearly stumbled.

"Don't push," Legna muttered before he continued walking.

"So Arme, how long until we reach the castle?" I asked. I hadn't been in Kanavan enough times.

"Lass, we haven't even been walking for an hour," Arme said with a sigh.

"I could just run," I grumbled.

"I can't run so fast! And my teleportation can't go that far," Arme said. "Plus, even if you decided to carry me, someone would get left behind." Now it was my turn to sigh.

"Fiiiiiine," I groaned.

"Like an old married couple," I heard Legna say with a chuckle.

"Hey!" I cried out. "We haven't been married for _that_ long! We're not old!"

Arme just chuckled.

"Heeeeeey," I said, mocking hurt. "We aren't! And you know I'm not!"

"Sure, sure, whatever." Arme giggled a bit. Well, at least she wasn't acting all sad again, at least.


	11. Chapter 10: Memories

**Author's Note**: Hate this chapter. . . Bleh. I wanna quit writing for now, but NaNoWriMo. . . Also, I suggest reading the section called Dragon Magic in Non-Dragons before reading this so you aren't totally confused. It can be found at the link, just remove the spaces. http :/deathbydarkness .deviantart. com/art/The-Dynas-World-Magic-184631017

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 10: Memories**

**

* * *

**After a few hours of walking and a few breaks, we reached Kanavan castle by the afternoon. Lass had wanted to run while carrying me but I didn't let him. If it was just the two of us, then maybe, though I wasn't terribly fond of being carried that much.

"So. . . that's the castle?" Legna asked.

"Yeah, it is," I answered.

"What's the king like?" he asked.

"Well, he's. . ." I thought for a second. I actually didn't know; Kanavan's affairs weren't my concern, nor was the king. But maybe they should be now. .

"The king seems kind," Lass answered. "He listens to the citizens' problems."

"Really. . ." Legna didn't seem convinced.

"Why do you ask?" I glanced sideways at him as we neared the castle.

"No reason," he mumbled as he proceeded to watch the ground. What was he thinking?

The three of us proceeded past the castle's new iron gates that glimmered in the afternoon sun. Looks like the king was taking some precautions. Bet he heard about Serdin's attacks. I noticed numerous archers station on top of the castle, with even more knights in front of the castle, just lounging there.

I approached one of the knights and asked, "Where is the rest of Grand Chase?"

The knight just glanced at me before muttering, "Training grounds I heard."

Turning to Lass, I said, "They're at the training grounds, let's go."

The three of us headed around to the back of the castle, where Kanavan's training grounds were.

As soon as we arrived, I saw the familiar red and blue of Elesis and Ronan. The two were sparring with each other, Ssanggeom versus Tyrfing. It seemed the two were at it for awhile now; the grounds were torn up a bit from the fighting.

"Lass, stay here with Legna, I'm heading up to the library to see if there's any books about restoring memory," I said. Without waiting for a response, I turned back towards the castle and entered through the double doors.

The castle itself didn't seem all that unchanged. Seemed like the King was fine with how the previous Queen decorated.

The path up to the library remained unchanged, thankfully, and it was only on the second floor. The library was grand, though not as grand as Serdin's, but I tried not to think about it. It would probably take a bit of time to find the books I would need; I didn't dabble too much with people's minds and memories.

There wasn't that many people in the library, so my search was unhindered. It took at least half an hour to find just three books. What happened to the Kanavan librarian? The books were all over the place! Magic with archery, history with politics. . . Did something happen to the librarian?

Later, I'd have to ask the King what happened, but for now. . .

The first book I opened mostly dealt with how the mind worked, with hardly anything on memories. The second book was a little better, but it mostly dealt with preserving memories when memories were mentioned. Finally, the third had what I needed; various ways to help cure amnesia of any sort, from minor amnesia to full-blown amnesia.

I read over the section over curing amnesia with magic before I closed the book and left the library with the book. Then I wondered how the others were doing.

"Arme!" a hyper-active voice squealed before I got tackled.

"Oof! Amy!" I cried out, trying to pry the pink-haired starlet away from me.

"How long has it beeeeeeen?" Amy cried.

"Just a few weeks, jeez! Please get off!" I tried again to loosen her grip against me.

She let go then and said, "Your new friend's strange."

"Who?" I asked, wondering who she meant exactly.

"You know!" Amy turned her head towards a tree, where Legna was sitting under.

"Oh, him," I said. "He's not a friend. But he can't remember where he came from so I brought him here so I could help him. He insisted on going out by himself but with all the monsters. . ." I sighed sadly, remembering about Serdin.

"Aw, Arme, don't cry!" Amy hugged me tightly, nearly choking me. "I heard about it, and I'm so sorry!" Amy began to cry.

"Choking. . . me. . ." I managed to choke out, and Amy let me go.

"Sorry!"

Looking around, I noticed there was someone missing. "Where's Jin?" I asked.

"Oh, he's dealing with something at Silver Land, I think he's training some Silver Knights in-training," she answered. "What's that book?"

I looked down at the book I carried. "I'm going to help Legna figure out where he came from. He can't seem to remember."

"Ooh, can I watch?" Amy pleaded, looking at me.

"Yeah, sure, c'mon." I made my way over to Legna. "Okay, sit up straight now!" I sat down across from him under the tree, back straight.

"Huh?" He looked up at me, bored and tired, but sat up straight. "What're you going to do?"

"You'll see. Now close your eyes!" I waited for him to close his eyes, hiding that strange, piercing yellow and those cat-like pupils. What normal human had eyes like that?

My hands reached out towards his face, my fingers only an inch away from his head. I had to lean forward a bit just to reach, but I managed. Then I whispered the spell I had memorized in the book; I had read it over at least multiple times to ensure I had it all right.

Then I closed my eyes as the spell began to take hold. Magically, I felt Legna flinch at the spell, and I felt the fear that started to appear; it was too late to pull back though. However, I had to struggle to keep him under the spell I had cast so I could uncover his memories of home.

What I saw surprised me. The land that he recognized as home was not a place I recognized. In fact, it was no place that could possibly exist in this world.

There were tall buildings that reached the sky, painfully bright with the sun's rays shining against the windows. There were strange, moving contraptions that seemed to contain actual people in them. The ground seemed so unnatural, as if made with an unknown substance. The scene shifted, the buildings shrinking and changing until they were only a fifth of the size of the larger buildings. These buildings reminded me of some of the homes people lived in, and wondered if these odd buildings were homes as well.

In front of some houses, the plants seemed so unnatural, so out of place. But then the scene changed again to nothing but sand and dirt and rocks and blinding sun as far as the eye could see. Then there was a large, odd town on the sandy landscape before it faded under some sort of glassy substance, then the town and glassiness disappeared entirely.

The scene changed again to a dark cavern. It was almost completely dark but soon a faint light appeared, coming closer and closer until the source of the light was seen in a large, spherical cavern. In the cavern were so many dragons! But these dragons. . . they were like none I've ever seen. They looked so strange, so. . . so odd. Their colors varied from blue to green to white to even purple. . .

What was this place? And what was this odd feeling? It seemed nearly feral. . .

And then my connection broke loose. It felt like Legna had broken the spell himself somehow.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to look into my mind?" he whispered.

When I opened my eyes, I saw him glaring at me, hatred and fear visible in his eyes.

"It was a spell to uncover memories made hidden from amnesia, spells, or anything else that would make you forget," I answered. "However, you lied. You didn't forget where you lived, you knew all along."

"I didn't completely lie, Arme," Legna said. "I was telling the truth when I said I didn't know what Silver Land, Ellia, Xenia, or those other places are. But I did lie about not knowing where I lived because I didn't want you or anyone else to know. I can find my way home on my own."

"And then you'll get eaten by monsters," I muttered. "I don't see why you didn't want to tell anyone; we would've been able to help you get home."

"I doubt that," he replied, a tinge of bitterness in his voice. Was it me, or was there a tinge of blue in his eyes.

"Arme, what'd you find out?" Lass asked, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I. . ." I started, before Legna let out a low growl. I looked at him, alarmed. There seemed to be a bit of confusion and pain in his expression as he bared his teeth.

"I-I. . . ice dragon. . ." he muttered before his eyes turned light blue.

"What the hell?" Lass whispered before he picked me up and quickly jumped back, and just in time. Just one second after Lass puled me away, Legna slammed his hands into the grass where I was just sitting.

"What. . ." I noticed there was a faint glow around Legna, or at least part of his body. It looked like there were wings sprouting from his back, only the outlines visible in a faintly glowing light-blue. Was that a dragon's head that hovered over his own head? Legna's own eyes were a very light blue, his pupils reduced to nothing more than paper-thin slits. There was a feral look about him.

"I didn't do that," I said, not sure what was going on with him. Was he turning into a dragon? I noticed that over his hands and shoes, there were claws that looked sharp and deadly, like a dragon's.

I thought Legna had said something but I couldn't catch it as the glowing wings on his back spread. He jumped as the wings flapped downwards, actually lifting Legna up into the air.

Lass and I were speechless as we watched Legna take flight like an actual dragon. His movements looked nearly serpentine as he flew. Was he actually _possessed_ by a dragon?

Wait, is that what happened to that dragon that was dying? Had it ended up possessing him? But why, exactly?

When I nearly got hit by a tree, I realized that Lass was running, with me in tow.

"What are you doing?" I cried out.

"Giving chase?" Lass looked at me for a brief second before he looked back ahead.

"Why?" I asked.

"If he causes trouble. . ." Lass didn't finish. All I could do was hold on tight and try not to scream. Lass was so. . . reckless sometimes, but I didn't regret marrying him. Well, maybe not reckless. That was Elesis.

Now that we were running, it didn't take quite as long to reach our destination, which turned out to be the Gorgos' Lair. That made me wonder what kind of connection Legna had with this place.

As soon as he landed, Legna dashed into the remnants of the Gorgos' Lair with Lass following him in. Which meant there was now no other way out for Legna.

The cavern was filled with a faint glow of light-blue from the dragon features that seemed to hover over Legna. He turned to face us, the dragon's head mimicking his actions. A low growl emanated from him before he faced the wall again.

"I have to go home. . ." a voice said, sounding deep and rough. It seemed to come from the dragon's head.

Then Legna placed a hand on the far back wall. It almost looked like he was sucked through, disappearing before Lass and I. What just happened?


	12. Chapter 11: Through the Wormhole

**Author's Note**: Thought I wouldn't finish this in time. . . Got distracted too easily. Well, here's the chapter, enjoy. And I noticed that this story's more Arme and Lass oriented in the GC sense while the other story was Elesis and Ronan oriented. I blame my liking of the Arme and Lass pairing.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 11: Through the Wormhole**

**

* * *

**My first thought was this; he turned invisible. Then again, it looked as if he was just sucked through the wall, so I guess that wasn't it.

"Arme, what do you think?" I asked.

"I. . . have no clue," she answered, confused. Great, even Arme doesn't know what just happened.

I took a step closer to examine the wall, careful not to touch it. There was nothing real special, just a bunch of scratched, battered rock, some loose bits of dirt in some cracks, shards of sparkling red, most likely bits of dried lava or something. . .

"There doesn't seem to be anything special about this wall," I stated. "Though it looks pretty with this dried lava."

Arme came up next to me and took a look at the wall.

"Lass, dried lava isn't red," Arme said. Oh. "But there are some pretty shards of ruby imbedded in the walls."

"Rubies. Gotcha."

I reached out to touch the wall, where I figured that Legna had touched it, but Arme stopped me.

"You don't know what might happen," Arme warned.

"Relax, what's the worse that could happen?" I asked.

"You could die," Arme answered, and I gulped. Good point. . .

Arme held my hand tightly. "But I doubt that if Legna touched the wall himself, so. . ." Then she reached out to touch the wall herself.

"W-Wait, Arme." I grabbed her hand, stopping her from touching the wall. "What if you're right? I mean, we don't know what'll happen to us!"

"Scared, Lass?" Arme whispered, a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"N-No, of course not!" I answered. "G-Go ahead. . ." I closed my eyes tightly, feeling myself shake with either anticipation or nervousness. Maybe both.

I felt an odd sensation, as if I were being pulled along by some unknown force. I was very aware of Arme's hand still holding mine, and there was a surge of energy going through my body. It felt sweet, yet frightened, and I wondered if it was something Arme was doing.

It hadn't felt like long before I felt something slam into my body, something hard and smooth. Dust threatened to choke me, and there was an odd smell about, sort of like rotten eggs, and I nearly gagged. Instead, I coughed abruptly due to the smell and the dust, my eyes watering.

I could hardly open my eyes due to the dust, but I found solid rock when I tried to find some sort of support to help me stand up. However, as soon as I stood up, I felt an intense wave of nausea hit me and I almost fell over.

"Lass?" I heard Arme whisper, and I realized I wasn't holding onto Arme's hand anymore.

"Arme?" I whispered. "There's too much dust, I can't see!" I let out a few loud coughs from the dust and smell that entered my nose and mouth when I spoke.

"Here." Arme's voice sounded muffled, and then a cloth was pressed against my face, allowing me to breathe, thank the gods!

I used the cloth to block the dust as I let tears clear my eyes. The smell didn't go away, but at least it was a bit better now with the cloth.

As soon as I could open my eyes again, albeit as slits, I could hardly see. At first, I thought my eyes weren't doing all that well after the onslaught of dust, but then I realized it was just really dark. In front of me was Arme, who was holding a lavender-colored cloth to her face.

"It stinks here," Arme muttered.

"Yeah. . ." I agreed. "What is this place anyway?"

"Aside from the obvious? I have no clue, but that stone's pretty." Arme's gaze was directed over to a large, teardrop-shaped sapphire. In the dark, it was almost impossible to tell how blue, but what I _could_ see. . . It was. . . beautiful. . . But what was that faint, red glow, and that heat?

The place we were in seemed to be getting increasingly warmer and warmer, really fast.

"Uh, Arme?" I looked over at her, noticing that the smell I had noticed before was getting stronger.

"I smell sulfur," Arme muttered, her face contorting in a mask of disgust.

"Sulfur?" Wait, doesn't sulfur mean. . . "Lava? Volcanoes? Magma?" Arme nodded. Great. That's when I noticed the faint red and orange glow coming from the only entrance to this place.

Before the two of us could do something, the ground began to rumble. At first the tremors were slight, but they increasingly became bigger and bigger until the red and orange glow was being blocked by something.

Instinctively, I pulled out a dagger, ready to attack. At the edge of my vision, I saw Arme hold her staff up at the ready. Whatever was coming was going to get a big surprise.

I didn't expect a dragon, exactly. Though, it looked. . . pretty, in a way. I mean, its scales seemed to sparkle and shine in the faint light there was. It seemed like in some way, the whole dragon was made of gems. The dragon seemed quite slim, not like most dragons I've ever seen.

I realized I was gaping when the dragon said, "Shut your mouth, human, and quit staring. It's rude, you know?"

"S-Sorry!" I said, closing my mouth and averting my gaze.

Wait. Did that dragon just _talk_?

"Did. . . it just talk?" I asked Arme, turning to her with surprise.

"Uh, Lass?" Arme called.

"Yeah?"

"The. . . dragon. . ."

I looked back at the dragon only to find that it was directly in front of me now. Let's just say it was. . . huge. In fact, I had to tilt my head way back just to see its head. Did. . . it actually look this big from the entrance to this place?

"I am here, you know," the dragon hissed. I just stared back nervously.

The dragon snorted before it spoke again. Or rather, hissed again. "I'll be assuming you're the two that was following Legna. Either way, do you wish to live or die?"

So he told this dragon we followed him? Great, we're dead meat. . . I mean, if that kid's friends with this dragon, then there may be other dragons, too. . .

"We both would prefer to live, thanks," Arme answered, holding up her staff, the cloth still against her face. That smell of sulfur was definitely stronger now. . .

"Please?" I added.

The dragon said nothing as it glanced back. I tried to look around it, and noticed the red and orange glow was considerably brighter now. In fact, I saw. . .

"Lava!" Arme cried. "We're going to die if we don't get out of here!"

My voice caught in my throat at the oncoming lava, moving so slowly, almost deliberately, as if taking its sweet ol' time. How could we die here? I'm too young to die! And Arme _can't_! She's too precious!

Then the dragon laid down on its stomach, trying to be as flat as possible. "Get on my back, now, if you really do want to live. And if you don't trust me, tough luck. You can face the lava instead."

What choice did we have? If the dragon was lying, we'd die either way.

"Up you go, Arme," I said weakly, helping her onto the dragon's back. She held her hand out for me, which I graciously took.

"Hold on tight, humans," the dragon hissed before it turned around and headed straight towards the lava, which I had nearly engulfed the only way out of here.

"We're gonna die!" I yelled as I held on tightly to the dragon, pressing my face against its rock-hard scales.

Everything shook as the dragon went from a steady trot to a galloping run until it seemed as if the dragon was literally soaring between each step.

I heard Arme shriek as the heat grew so intense I could feel the sweat leaving my pores. I resisted the urge to scream, expecting searing-hot lava to melt my skin away.

That never happened, but I was too scared to even look up, even when the heat died away and the shaking stopped. It felt as if the dragon were being lifted, and then I felt the dragon's muscles move and twist.

"Lass, open your eyes," Arme said, awe in her voice, so I finally peeled my face off the scales and opened my eyes.

What I saw was amazing. I know I have flown before with Ronan's dragon, but this was different. It's not like the flight was different, but what I saw was different. We were in the sky, the crystal-blue sky, not a single cloud to be seen. Below and all around were the lush, vibrant green of so many leaves on so many trees. The only place I'd ever seen so many trees was back in the Forest of Life, but that place seemed to pale in comparison to this. What was this?

Off in the distance, I thought I saw what appeared to be desert, yet it seemed so close to the lush trees, so I figured the trees were blocking a part of the land.

Then I realized something; where was the lava?

"What happened to the lava?" I asked Arme.

"If you were looking, you would've seen that the lava came from inside the cavern," Arme told me. "By the time we flew out, the lava was about to leave the cavern to. . ." Arme looked down in a southern direction, so I followed her gaze.

Then I saw the flames and the lava as trees were engulfed.

"No big loss," the dragon hissed. "Just don't fall over."

"What do you mean 'no big loss'?" Arme demanded.

"The forest will grow back, and quickly too," the dragon answered. "I'm assuming you arrived here through the wormhole, and thus are from a different planet." Huh.

"I'll explain later. Maybe. For now, just hold on." Before Arme or I could even say anything, the dragon flew up higher into the skies where there were numerous flying creatures higher above.

Wait, they were all dragons. All of them. At least hundreds.

"So. . . many. . ." I whispered, nearly speechless. Dragons were rare, at least that's what I thought. The only dragons I'd ever seen were Ronan's and the ones on Xenia, but this. . .

"Typical in Dynas, humans," the dragon hissed. "But then again, you're not from this world at all."

"Dynas?" I asked.

"That's the name of this world, human."


	13. Chapter 12: To Xenia and Back

**Author's Note**: All I can say is, at least Amy's actually more in the story now. I kinda don't feel like writing this story anymore but I really wanna complete NaNoWriMo. . . Yeah.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 12: To Xenia and Back**

**

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**"What?" I stared at Amy with a bit of disbelief in my voice.

"Ronan, listen the first time!" Amy pouted. "Okay, we've been asked by the gods of Xenia to investigate something odd that's been happening at the Altar of Judgment. There's something odd going on and we're gonna figure out what!"

"But Amy, first off, why can't the gods handle this? I mean, they're free from Thanatos's control now, so they shouldn't have any problems," I told the pink-haired starlet. "Second of all, you know I can't investigate something like this. I have my duties here as the Royal Guard Master."

"Actually," Amy said, "I've talked to the King and he said that both you and Elesis can leave your current duties for now!" Wait, what? "He said it's temporary but you two are allowed to go to Xenia with Jin, Sieghart and I!"

"And how'd you convince the king?" I asked, doubtful.

"It wasn't that hard to convince him, really," Amy answered. "I simply asked the King if I could borrow you and Elesis and check something out in Xenia and how it was the gods' will!"

Somehow, I doubted the King would actually let us go on such an excuse, but I did kind of wanted a break, even if it was to travel to Xenia. . .

"Well, all right then," I said, sighing. "When do we leave?"

"Now!" Amy nearly squealed before she grabbed my arm and ran off with me. Jeez, she had a steel-hard grip!

Oftentimes, I almost tripped due to Amy's excessive speeding but luckily I managed not to.

Finally we stopped near the Forsaken Barrows, still as gloomy as ever, even with the lack of monsters and the fact it was the middle of the afternoon.

Our group only consisted of Elesis, Jin, Amy, Sieghart and I. I still wasn't sure what happened to Arme and Lass. . . The two ran off chasing after some odd kid and they never came back. We tried to figure out what happened to them but the farthest we got was to the Gorgos' Lair. After that, all signs of Arme and Lass disappeared.

"So, how're we gonna get to Xenia?" Sieghart asked.

"Ronan!" Amy answered, pointing to me.

"And how is he gonna?" Sieghart asked before I could speak.

"Dragon!" Amy answered cheerily.

"Oh."

"So we're going flying?" Elesis asked.

"Seems so," I answered.

Taking out my glaive, I quickly summoned the dragon, who landed with a large thump. It let out a small growl and scratched its head with its hind foot as I came up to it.

"Can you give us a lift?" I asked, and the dragon nodded, so I turned to the others and said, "After you."

Sieghart walked right past me as he leaped onto the dragon's back and promptly laid down on his stomach. Amy easily hopped on while Jin climbed on carefully. Last was Elesis, who held out a hand to me as soon as she was on.

"Thank you," I said as I took her hand and she helped pull me up.

"Mmhm," was all Elesis said before allowing me to make my way near the dragon's head.

"Xenia's our destination, north," I told it. The dragon nodded once before it spread its broad wings and flapped strongly, lifting off with just one flap. A few more flaps of its wings took us over the tree line, and then the dragon began heading north towards Xenia.

The flight didn't take too long, and luckily Sieghart fell asleep. He was about to fall off too, but unfortunately Amy and Elesis held onto him so he didn't plummet into the ocean below.

"Ronan!" Amy called.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Go left!" she cried out. "Altar of Judgment's that way!"

"Gotcha!" I was about to tell the dragon to turn left but apparently it heard Amy and turned a sharp left, nearly throwing all of us over. Luckily, none of us fell off.

"Not so fast next time, please," I said, shaking slightly at the near-tumble. The dragon snorted, almost as if laughing. Not funny!

Minutes passed and it gradually began to get cooler and cooler. Soon it began to snow very lightly.

"Odd," Jin said. "This. . . isn't snow."

"It's not?" Elesis held out a hand, letting the "snow" collect before she held it close. "Jin, you're right! This. . . is ash."

"Ash? You mean from a volcano?" I looked around, noticing The Wyrm's Maw off to the far right in the distance. Oddly enough, it seemed pretty calm over there, so why was there falling ash?

The dragon soon landed in front of the Altar's entrance.

"Thank you," I whispered to the dragon, placing a hand on its muzzle. The dragon let out a low rumble before it disappeared in a small light.

"Okay, let's go!" Elesis marched right in, not caring to look for any danger, though I suppose there wouldn't be much danger right now.

The rest of us followed Elesis in, and I felt a twinge of sadness. This reminded me of back when we first came here; there were nine of us at the time, and now, it was just five of us.

"So many Icefangs," Amy whispered. Above us on the shelves inside the Altar were numerous Icefangs, all watching us. It unnerved me slightly, and I began to wonder if we might end up fighting.

"'sit me, or is it getting warmer?" Sieghart grumbled from behind us. Odd, it was.

"Let's hurry," Elesis said before she broke out in a run, not caring about the ice that coated parts of the floor. Ahead of us though, the ice had melted, turning into nothing more than pools of water that felt cool. As we continued on, however, the water got warmer gradually.

Soon we exited the building interior of the Altar and entered the place where the Altar of Judgment's namesake stood. The familiar serpent and scale statues still littered the place. Yamini was nowhere in sight, which I found slightly odd and slightly suspicious.

"Where's Yamini?" I asked aloud.

"Odd, she said she'd be here when we arrived," Amy said.

"Yeah well, she's not here!" Elesis cried. "But what's that red glow?" Elesis pointed to the right of us.

There was an immense crack in the ground, longer than the the Kanavan castle was tall. A heated red glow emanated from the crack.

"What's in there?" Amy asked, and she bounded over to the crack and looked down. She yelped and ran back to us, all in less than ten seconds.

"Lava!" Amy cried. "And it's rising!"

"What?" Sieghart asked, yawning.

"Lava, you nitwit!" Amy nearly yelled. "We needa get outta here!" Before any of us could respond, Amy ran back the way we came, leaving the rest of us in slight confusion.

"Did she call me a nitwit?" Sieghart mumbled, yawning again.

"Who cares what she called you?" Elesis cried, then ran after Amy. That just left Sieghart, Jin and I.

Jin looked in the direction of the crack in the ground, as did I. In mere seconds, lava began to well over the edge. Oddly enough, I could see that the source of the ash was not this crack, so where was all this ash coming from?

"Um, we need to move," Jin said before he went after the girls.

"Right. . ." I followed Jin, not caring if Sieghart was going to follow. He did, at least.

A few times, I nearly slipped as the water turned to ice, once nearly falling face-first into the ground.

Soon I made it out to the entrance where I hastily summoned the dragon. It seemed the dragon didn't need to know we were all in slight danger as the dragon laid down flat on its stomach.

First Amy, then Elesis, Jin, and I scrambled on quickly, Sieghart following suit quickly.

Ten seconds after the dragon took off, lava poured out from the entrance and engulfed the ground we had just been standing on.

"That was close," Elesis said, looking down. "But what's with the lava?"

"Well, the Altar of Judgment _is_ near The Wyrm's Maw," I explained.

"Good point but. . ." Elesis paused. "Isn't there a big gap between here and The Wyrm's Maw?" Oh, good point.

"Well, Xenia used to be one big land mass," Amy told us. "It wasn't until the gods made their homes on Xenia did it become separated. It's a legend we were told as children."

"Seems like it's not a legend," Jin said, looking down. "Think we should talk to Starkiln?"

"I think we should," Sieghart said. "After all, he's the God of Flames and the lava and stuff."

"To The Wyrm's Maw it is then," I said. The dragon circled a few times in the air before heading northwest towards The Wyrm's Maw.

It didn't take too long to get there, and personally, I wished the ride was longer. As soon as the area below us turned to rocks and lava, the temperature rose sharply.

By the time we landed on a slab of rock in front of the entrance to The Wyrm's Maw, I had worked up a sweat. Even taking off most of my armor didn't help.

"Let's hurry before I melt," Elesis grumbled, and ran right in. The rest of us hurried after her; the sooner we were done with this, the sooner we could leave.

It wasn't long until we were in the place where we first found Starkiln and unlike Yamini, he was here.

Except he was unmoving.

"What gives?" Elesis went up to Starkiln and prodded his foot with her sword.

"Uh, Elesis, you should be careful." I went up to her and pulled her back, wary of everything that was going on. First, Yamini wasn't there even though Amy said she would be. Now Starkiln was technically not here. What gives?

"Why do I have a feeling something's wrong?" Sieghart asked.

"Because something did?" Amy replied.

"Guys, I think it's best we head back," Jin said.

"What? Why? We just got here!" Elesis exclaimed. "We needa get to the bottom of this!"

"Jinny's right," Sieghart said, causing Jin to flinch slightly. "I have a feeling there's not much we can do right now. In fact, I feel as if the gods won't be here for us to talk to."

"C'mon guys, let's go," Amy turned and began heading out, followed by Jin and Sieghart.

"Ronan. . ." Elesis turned to me. "Is there really nothing we can do right now?"

"It's three against two, Elesis," I told her. "Plus, I have a feeling the King wouldn't want us gone for long." I pulled Elesis into a tight hug, ignoring the immense heat.

Elesis sighed before pulling away. "I guess. . . I still wish we could just stay and find out what happened. . ."

"I do too," I said. "Say, how long did the King say we could be gone for?"

"I. . . I don't know," Elesis answered. "Amy just told me that the King gave you and I permission to go on this trip to Xenia."

I sighed. "Great, we need to talk to Amy then. C'mon, Elesis."

The two of us made our way out of The Wyrm's Maw, where Amy, Jin, Sieghart, and the dragon awaited.

"Pumpkin-head!" Elesis called out. "Get over here!"

As Amy came over, she cried, "I am not a pumpkin-head!"

"Whatever," Elesis grumbled. "Did you ask the King how long we could be gone for?"

Amy looked at Elesis, confusion on her face. Oh great, what did Amy get us into?

"He said. . . before the sun sets, I think," Amy answered after a moment's hesitation.

"Before the. . ." I took a look towards the west. The sky was partially obscured by falling ash, but I could see the sun. Or at least the remnants of it. The sun was half-way down the horizon.

"Crap!" Elesis cried out. "We gotta move!" Elesis leaped onto the dragon's back, nearly missing and falling into the lava. That nearly gave me a heart attack!

"Don't do that again Elesis, please!" I said as I climbed onto the dragon's back. "Back to Kanavan, _fast_."

The dragon took off immediately, heading back south to Bermesiah.


	14. Chapter 13: Lessons InFlight

**Author's Note**: Sort of a slow chapter. . . But good thing for me; I kinda developed Dynas a bit more. Shouldn't have done this crossover business with my world though, ugh. . . . Shoulda developed it more first. I think it would've been better to do this as just an Elsword and Grand Chase crossover instead, since the two would be easier to do anyway, lol. And I like having Lass like this. . . Slight change than the usual cold/semi-uncaring guy~

Anyway, might not be another chapter for a day or two 'cause I'm probably ahead of schedule again.

And there's supposed to be a hyphen in the chapter name in the drop-down box in the top right. . . Ff. Yeah I'm picky about stuff like that.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 13: Lessons In-Flight**

**

* * *

**I wasn't exactly that fond of flying, but at least I didn't get sick or anything from flying.

The sinking feeling I felt in my stomach was most likely due to the fact that Lass and I were just told we were in another world.

I grabbed a hold of Lass' hand, as he looked like he would topple off any moment.

"So. . . another world, huh?" I said.

The dragon flew in lazy circles over the mouth of the cavern, engulfing us all in smoke, yet it seemed as if the smoke was avoiding us. "Yes. You came to this world through a wormhole."

"Worms?" Lass hurriedly checked his outfit, shaking it occasionally.

"It's not filled with actual worms," the dragon hissed. "It's simply a term used to describe certain locations that are connected to other worlds. Touch the object that's associated with the wormhole and you get sucked through. There's no way to tell where a wormhole is until you touch it, though."

"This is weird," I said, and shook my head in disbelief. This sounded too far-fetched to be true. But if we really were in another world. . .

"What's with the smoke?" Lass asked.

"It's due to the lava," the dragon answered.

"No, I mean, why's the smoke going around us?" Lass asked instead.

"Magic, human," the dragon said, "or have you never seen magic before? I'm assuming you haven't if you must ask."

"Actually, I have seen magic," Lass muttered. "I just. . . didn't think a dragon could use it."

"Believe it," the dragon hissed. "It shouldn't come as a surprise, as you have probably seen others use magic, such as the female."

"T-That's different! I mean, she's human, and. . ." Lass hesitated.

"Human arrogance to think only humans can use magic," the dragon scoffed, and fly out of the smoke and higher into the sky.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Lass cried. "I have seen others that weren't human use magic but they're either humanoid or were like, really powerful!" I just sighed, wondering when Lass would give it up.

The dragon said nothing as it flew up to a pretty large, purple dragon that seemed to be hovering in the air.

The purple dragon looked at Lass and I with its ruby-like eyes and snorted.

"_Aren't these the two that were apparently chasing Legna_?" I heard in my head. Was I hearing voices? Lass jumped at the the voice though.

"Philan, please use your voice or you're going to possibly confuse these two, especially the boy," the non-purple dragon hissed.

"Fine," the purple dragon said.

"You were speaking to us telepathically?" I asked. The purple dragon nodded. "Lass and I have had experiences with telepathy before."

"I don't like it when people speak to me in my mind though," Lass added. "I've had. . . bad experiences." I knew what he meant; Kaze'aze. Lass had told us that the witch would often communicate with him through telepathy and how he just couldn't stand it.

"Fine," the purple dragon said again.

"Say, could you. . . call us by our names?" Lass asked meekly. "I mean, I don't really like it when you call us 'humans', even if that's what we are."

"If you want, Lass," the non-purple dragon hissed.

"H-How'd you know my name?" Lass cried.

"Because the female said your name," the purple dragon said. "And if you wish to address me or the dragon you're riding on, my name is Philan, and you can just call him Saif."

"And I'm Arme," I said. "Please to meet you Philan. And Saif."

Both dragons just growled in response. Huh.

"Isn't it kind of rude to growl at someone?" Lass asked.

"Maybe where you come from, sure," Saif muttered. "It's common for dragons to just growl in response, as we can hear the different changes in growls."

"Uh, okay?"

Suddenly Philan shot up high into the air before he sank back down. Saif simply staggered in air slighty.

"Stupid heat currents," Saif grumbled. "I hope the Dragon Sapphire is doing okay under the heat."

I took a glance downwards to see that the lava had pretty much engulfed a large portion of the forest, setting the greenery on fire and . It seemed like the lava wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

"So. . . how long are, um. . ." I looked above and around us before continuing. "How long are the dragons going to remain in the air like this?"

"Until the lava stops," Philan answered. "And we can't go somewhere else yet unless we want to risk being attacked."

"So you've heard as well, Philan?" Saif asked.

"About the destruction of the Dragon Emerald? Obviously."

"What are these. . . Dragon gems?" Lass asked.

The two dragons just ignored Lass as they flew up higher up where more of the dragons were flying around. Some dragons looked our way but soon ignored us. One even flew close to us for a few seconds before flying away.

"I'm getting nervous," Lass whispered to me.

"Me too," I told him, trying not to look down. Heights, I could handle. There was such a thing as too high up, though. The ground below us looked so far away and I felt a slight bit of vertigo set in, so I concentrated on looking forward at Saif's head.

"Say, Arme, what exactly happened when we flew through that tunnel?" Lass asked me.

I said nothing for a minute as I recalled the events.

"It was. . . amazing, Lass," I said. "We basically flew through the lava. I thought we were going to melt. I'm sure you felt the heat, but none of the lava touched us. It was as if the lava was being repelled by some force, but it was only an inch away. After the initial shock and fear, I managed to get a chance to see, up-close, the lava and it was. . . memorizing."

The vivid oranges, reds and yellows came back to mind. Thin veins of glowing gelatinous yellow against such warm red and orange. Bits of cooled lava, threads of fire coursing through, such a hypnotic glow. At one point, I had even tried to reach out to touch the lava despite the heat, but it moved away from my fingers as if I were pushing the lava away.

"Amazing, huh," Lass murmured, seeing the awe in my face. I just nodded.

"Too bad you didn't look," I said teasingly. "It was. . . pretty unique."

"Yeah well, my fear of being melted kind of took over." Lass just smiled. "Though, I wish I did see."

"And perhaps you might," Saif hissed. He had heard our conversation but then again, it would be kind of hard to hide our words while on his back.

"What do you mean?" Lass asked.

"Philan and I plan to check out the nearby volcano," Saif explained. "There's a possibility that something's going on in the volcano that's causing all this lava. And to make sure you two don't make trouble, you're both coming with us."

"Sounds good to me," I said. It would give Lass and I a chance to see more of this world.

"Um, a volcano, you said?" Lass asked.

"Yes," Saif answered. "And I'll take you two for a ride under the magma there."

"O-Okay, cool!" Lass was obviously nervous, even if he wasn't showing it. I was nervous as well, though mostly excited.

"Saif, let's get going now," Philan said and flew off to our left. He flew too fast, but I thought I saw someone on his back. . .

Saif snorted once, twice, then let out a puff of smoke and said, "Hang on tight you two."

With that, he flew after Philan, albeit at a slightly lower altitude.

"So, what exactly do you think you might find in the volcano?" Lass asked curiously.

"Not sure," Saif answered. "I have to wonder if there's any fire and lava dragons still living in there though. If there are, maybe they'd know what's going on."

"Fire and lava dragons. . . Saif, what kind of dragon are you?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"A gem dragon," Saif answered. "I take it there's none in the world you came from."

"Yep," Lass said. "We don't see that many dragons in the first place. Most of them just try to eat us."

"Here, most dragons don't eat humans; too valuable to waste," Saif said. "Well, most are, but I don't mind snacking on an idiotic human occasionally."

Lass shivered slightly. "I think I want off now. . ."

"Relax, Lass," I said. "Saif said _idiotic_ humans."

"Still. . ." It seemed Lass had paled a bit, looking even whiter than he already was. I just sighed and gave him a quick hug.

"Saif would've eaten us by now if he wanted to," I told Lass.

"What if he's saving us for later?" Lass cried.

"Lass!" I shook him a bit. "Why'd he bother saving just two people when there's most likely more people out there?"

"What if there's not? What if there's like, a very small population of humans?" Lass looked like he was on the verge of fainting.

"Look," I said, "if that's the case, that's why humans are valuable. I mean, it seems like dragons here have a higher intelligence than the dragons we've seen back home. With all these dragons around, I think the human population would be extinct or close-to by now, wouldn't you think?" Lass nodded weakly.

"There's a pretty good population of humans on this world too," Saif added. "Current population; about one hundred and fifty million humans on Dynas, currently growing at a rate of about 150 humans a day. Death is about 130 humans a day. Numbers may fluctuate in the event of an epidemic or times of peace."

"That's. . . reassuring," Lass said faintly, but he seemed to be regaining a bit of little color he had to his face.

"Perhaps one day, I or another dragon could teach you two a bit about Dynas," Saif said.

"That'd be nice," I said, my curiosity for this world growing. Dragons were as smart as humans, perhaps even more so. . . There must have been so many types of different flora and fauna on this planet, and the thought of studying it, to learn about it, made me excited.

"So. . . Dragons can use magic?" Lass asked.

"Anyone can if they choose to study it," Saif answered. "Some can learn easier than others, but anyone can as long as they are able to learn how to manipulate energy and mana and convert it into the state they so desire."

Interesting. Usually in Bermesiah, and perhaps in other parts of our home world, only those that naturally had the gift for magic could learn, would learn, and those that didn't usually never did and sometimes they weren't even allowed to as it'd be a waste of time.

"Volcano up ahead, the Lynity Volcano," Saif said.

"Lynity?" Odd name. . .

"This land mass is named the Lynity Origamus," Saif explained. "In Dynastia, 'Lynity' means 'of the people of Lyn' and 'Origamus' usually means 'land mass'."

"What's Dynastia?" Lass asked before I could.

"One of two official languages of Dynas. Now, enough with the questions, 'lest you risk falling off." Without warning, Saif folded his wings and entered a steep dive right in the direction of the volcano.


	15. Chapter 14: Into the Volcano

**Author's Note**: I blanked at the end, sorry.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 14: Into the Volcano**

**

* * *

**I'll admit I pretty much screamed when that Saif went into a nosedive. In fact, I nearly fell off!

"Quit screaming, Lass!" Arme yelled at me.

"Sorry!" I yelled back and I decided to just concentrate on hanging on and trying not to lose my lunch. Flying at fast speeds was not fun.

I wanted to look and see how close we were to hitting the ground but I was just too scared to even look. The wind whistled around my ears, and I felt as if something got loose and fell away in the wind. I hope it wasn't anything important. . .

As suddenly as the nosedive, Saif stopped, causing me to lurch forward, nearly taking my stomach with it.

I heard a soft thump as something fell and then I heard Arme cry out. "Warn us next time!"

"Watch next time," Saif hissed. "Now get off, Lass."

It took me a minute or two before I managed to slide off onto the hot, hard ground. Then I ended up jumping quickly.

"Hot!" I yelped. I then noticed I was facing a large hole in the rock.

"Obviously," Arme grumbled as she came up to me, dusting herself. "This is apparently a side entrance to the volcano."

"There's another entrance?" I asked.

"Yes," Arme answered. "The top of the volcano where all the smoke and lava usually comes out." Oh.

"So. . . we gotta go in now?" I looked over at the side entrance. I could see it glowing orange-ish farther in. . . This wasn't going to be pleasant. . .

Saif sat to the right of this entrance, almost like a weird-looking scaly doggy. Philan stood to the left, though he was standing on four limbs. I wondered why he wasn't sitting, but guess that didn't really matter.

"Follow me," Saif commanded before he got up and entered the volcano.

I looked at Philan, wondering if he was going to follow Saif.

"You two first," Philan said. "A dragon in front and a dragon in back is generally a good defense."

"C'mon Lassy, this way." Arme grabbed my arm and pulled me in. The stink of sulfur was back and I groaned.

"Something wrong?" Philan asked from behind.

"The smell. . ." I groaned. "I hate sulfur now. . ."

Philan growled slightly, though it was more like a rumble before he went silent. Then the smell of sulfur seemed to fade away gradually.

"Hey, it doesn't smell anymore!" I exclaimed, joyous.

"Unless they decided to drop the magical shield," Arme said to me.

"Wait, what? They're using a magical shield to keep the smell out?" I asked. Just to. . .

"It's also for the heat in the volcano," Saif said from his position in front of us. "Once we get far enough in, the heat will be too much for humans without any sort of protective gear."

"Please," Arme scoffed. "Lass and I, along with others, have been in a volcano before. It was home to the God of Flames and it was absolutely _scorching_ in there, but we all lived." Mostly.

"Right, I suppose you used your magic then?" Saif asked, not looking back.

"Nope!" Arme said.

"Then it was hardly what I'd call 'scorching'."

"What do you mean?"

Saif threw us a glance this time as he spoke. "How hot was that volcano?"

Arme thought for a bit before she answered. "I actually have no idea, but it was an active volcano."

"You know nothing about volcanoes, girl," Saif hissed. "On average, temperatures can reach at least over two thousand degrees in heat, more than enough to melt the flesh off your bones."

I had an image of myself melting, the skin going first, turning into gelatinous goo, then to water, and then more followed, and. . .

The thought was enough for me to let out a gagging sound and I attempted to calm my stomach down.

"Um, you okay Lass?" Arme asked, walking closer to me.

"Fine, just fine!" I said shakily. Melting sounded. . . extremely painful.

Soon we stopped, and by then I was feeling a bit better now. Until I took a peek over a ledge and saw lots of bubbling, red-hot lava. I began feeling a tad faint.

"Get on my back, we're flying now," Saif said before letting out a low growl. Better than walking now, I guess. I mean, even with the magic up, it was still pretty hot.

"You first, Lass," Arme said, and she proceeded to poke my butt with her staff, causing me to jump right onto Saif's back.

"N-No need to rush!" I cried out before reaching down a hand to help Arme up. She took my hand and I pulled her up and let her sit in front of me. This way, I could hug her from behind.

"Lass, are you wide awake?" Saif asked me.

"Um, yes?" I answered, slightly confused. I was _very_ awake.

"Very well. No closing your eyes now." Saif let out a low rumble before he took flight.

The area we were now in was an enormous cavern with a bunch of lava below. At the opposite end of the cavern seemed to be the path that would continue deeper into the volcano. There was a stone path in the middle of the cavern that was settled in the lava and rose at least a good few meters up. If someone fell off, oh boy. . .

As I was examining the cavern, I realized how it wasn't terribly far from the side we were on to the opposite side. That's when I realized Saif was flying in circles.

"Uh, hey, what's going on, Saif?" I asked.

"Hang on. Now," Saif ordered before he pulled his wings in and performed another nosedive. Straight towards the lava.

I let out a loud scream before I buried my face in Arme's hair. I could feel Arme's body stiffen slightly as she braced herself.

"Lass, keep your eyes open and out of my hair!" Arme hissed to me. "Now!" So I did as Arme told me, even though it was very frightening to see the lava engulf all three of us.

As soon as we were in the lava, protected by Saif's magic, all sound seemed muffled. It almost seemed as if we were underwater. Or maybe it was more like really thick, yet runny, molasses. All around us, the lava churned and boiled, many lava bubbles occasionally rising up past us. Sometimes there were small bits of rock that quickly melted away. The glow the lava produced. . . was quite memorizing.

"This is. . . kinda nice," I murmured. "Even if we are under lava that could melt our skins off." I noticed that the temperature wasn't that great now. Maybe Saif could control how much heat we could feel.

"It's better than lava, Lass," Arme said. "It's actually magma, since it hasn't come out yet. The pressure should be kind of great under here, but I suppose Saif's keeping the pressure away."

Saif. . . I took a careful look at his movements. They seemed quite serpentine and graceful under here, just like in the air. I suppose swimming in magma wasn't too different for this dragon.

"I can't remember the last time I went swimming," Saif said to us. "It's been awhile ever since we became hunted."

"Who would hunt something as graceful as you?" I asked without thinking.

"Many would, fool," Saif hissed. "Many would. . . Dragons are being hunted now, despite the threat of death that befalls those who hunt dragons. For some reason, the higher-ups of Dynas aren't doing a thing about this."

"But why?" Arme asked.

"Who knows," Saif said.

Who would want to hunt a dragon in this world? I mean, really. . . The dragons here. . . If they were anything like Saif and Philan, then the dragons have to be pretty smart, some graceful and beautiful. . .

But I guess there would be a reason, I guess; the dragons' scales, horns and eyes. I mean, they were. . . gem-like, at least on Saif. Philan's eyes were like rubies, Saif's were like sapphires. And Saif's scales? Looking down closely at them, they seemed to almost shimmer in this glowing magma.

"Enough wasting time," Saif said before his head was suddenly in the lava, and I let out a loud scream.

"Lass, quit screaming in my ear!" Arme yelled at me.

"S-Sorry! B-But Saif. . ." I pointed at where the dragon's head used to be.

Arme just sighed. "I doubt he'd still be moving so gracefully like this if he died, Lass." Good point, but still. . .

"Scared me though," I muttered.

Soon the magma revealed Saif's head again as he took all three of us back out of the magma and onto the stone pathway in the middle of the cavern. Arme and I dismounted, and I shook myself a bit.

"I'll never get used to lava or magma anymore," I muttered.

"The heat's worse," I heard an all-too-familiar voice say. "I can't stand volcanoes. Philan, why'd you have to drag me in here?" Legna glared at the purple dragon.

"You were asleep, so why not?" Philan was sitting on his rump and gave a shrug of his massive shoulders. I noticed how his front two limbs looked quite like arms, in a dragony sense.

"You couldn't have dropped me off somewhere?"

"Well, there was the lav-" Philan started.

"No thanks, but this is technically worse," Legna muttered.

"You have ice magic, so use it," Philan hissed.

"It melts, fucking plum."

Philan let out a low growl before he lunged at Legna, who staggered back. I couldn't see what happened though as Philan's body blocked my view.

Then he turned our way and flung Legna to the opposite side of where we entered from. He let out a loud, "Hey!" before he hit the ground.

"Uh, was that a good idea?" I asked, staring as he stood up.

"Obviously," Philan said and walked past us to where Legna was thrown.

Saif turned his head towards us and opened his mouth to say something before he stopped. He raised his head slightly and paused, as if he heard something before he growled.

"Human hunters are arriving," Saif hissed. "We must hurry, now."

"Wait," Arme said. "How can they get in here without melting? They don't have a dragon helping them, do they?"

"No, not a single dragon would want to help human hunters. They're probably using magic or some sort of high-tech armor. Let's go!" Saif turned and ran, roaring.

Both Philan and Legna had a look of shock and surprise on their face before the two both turned and ran, leaving Arme and I behind.

"Do you think we should try and hold 'em off at least?" I asked Arme quickly, who shook her head.

"We don't know what the people here are capable of, Lass," she told me. "The best we can do is follow Saif, Philan and Legna."

"I hate that guy," I muttered.

"Hate him all you want Lass, but he knows more about this world than we do." Arme grabbed my hand. "Let's go."

"Fine," I sighed, and pulled my arm away from Arme. She turned to glare at me, but only for a second before I scooped her up into my arms and ran.

"Lass!" Arme cried.

"Now who's screaming in who's ear?" I smirked.

"Just don't drop me!" Arme clung to my shirt, burying her face in my jacket as I ran.

Hopefully this won't turn out terribly bad.


	16. Chapter 15: Back to Kanavan

**Author's Note**: Sorry for a short chapter. And I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this but oh well. And I nearly forgot about Sieghart when writing this, oops.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 15: Back to Kanavan**

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What happened? How could a single day allow for such a change? Unless this was happening slowly, subtly, over time. . . And that one day we were delayed was the final day needed to finish the change.

Were the gods against us? Were they the cause for the powerful headwinds that cause Ronan's dragon to have to head back to Xenia? We had to stay in Xenia, overnight, and when the winds finally died, it was at least twenty-four hours since we had last left, and when we came back. . .

The Grand Chase were declared as traitors. We were deemed outcasts, and if we were to be spotted, to be killed on sight. There was an immense reward for each of us still left. It was said that it was our fault for the fall of Serdin, for Grand Chase abandoned their allies at Serdin castle when we were needed the most. But I remember what Arme had said.

Arme had said that no matter what would've happened, the castle would have fallen. There was no hope, no chance of saving the kingdom. The castle was the last target, the rest of the kingdom decimated, and with the Queen dead and nearly no one left but those at the castle. . . I thought the King understood. He seemed to when Arme and Lass came to him and gave him the news of Serdin. I was wrong.

And now this. Now, we are outlaws where the kingdom of Kanavan somehow fell into chaos. Were we blinded somehow? When I think about it, I realized one thing; we had hardly left the castle ever since the King was crowned. We were kept so busy, we hardly managed to go out. The last time any of us went out was only two days ago, when Arme and Lass ran off. In fact, it was only Arme and Lass who ever went anywhere.

Ronan and Elesis have lost their positions; Ronan's as the Royal Guard Master, and Elesis's as the Savior of Bermesiah. Luckily, Amy and I haven't lost our positions due to the fact we are affiliated with the Silver Knights, and I doubt Arme and Lass have lost theirs, though Arme's position was long gone while Lass's affiliation was in Ellia. And Sieghart, he's still hailed as a legend but some people despise him now just for his laziness.

"Guys," Elesis said, no sign of emotion in her voice. Ever since we had found out about our current status, Elesis began to take on the cool demeanor she had learned to show instead of the hot-headed, brashness she had used to shown. "We have to separate. We need to if we're to survive. We need to take on new identities, maybe even new looks, if we want to survive."

"What about. . ." Amy paused, barely containing the emotion in her voice. "What about Arme and Lass?"

"We can only assume them to be safe or dead," Elesis answered. "There's been absolutely no signs of the two ever since the last two days when they ran off. I think we would have heard of something relating to the two if they were alive or dead."

"We've no choice now," Ronan whispered, staring at the ground. "We shall do as our leader says and separate and take on new identities."

Ronan was the most torn of us all. Kanavan was his life, and now that it turned into this mess of chaos where even the soldiers stand corrupted. . . It made me think of the death of the Silver Knights and the corruption of Victor, my mentor. . .

"If we ever hear that Arme and Lass are alive and safe somewhere, we need to send a message to them," Elesis said. She looked around the area, a small forest. Then she shrugged her jacket off and added, "But now we have to go. Bye, Grand Chase." Elesis turned and walked off, none of us stopping her.

"Farewell," Ronan whispered. I saw the longing in his eyes, the despair, but then Ronan closed his eyes before turning away and left in a direction opposite Elesis's. Now it was just Amy and I.

"Jin. . ." the pink-haired starlet turned to me.

"Amy. . ." I paused, hesitated. Suddenly I was tempted to defy Elesis and ask Amy to accompany me. I didn't want to be alone again, all alone with no one. I didn't want to face the agonizing loneliness again, when I was shunned, mistreated, for the actions I did under a subtle possession not even I was aware of.

The starlet was closely in front of me, her lovely pink eyes glistening with tears.

"We'll see each other again, okay?" she whispered.

"I. . ." I wanted to tell her to stay with me, that we could go together somewhere and hide. But I just couldn't say it. "Okay."

Amy nodded sadly, the tears streaming down her cheeks. I placed a finger under one of the tears and let it collect on my finger before wiping it away, along with the other tear.

"Don't cry," I said to her.

"When we can, let's go back to Silver Land, see if we can get help there, help for Kanavan and all of Bermesiah," Amy said. "And maybe, maybe we can save everyone from this King so we don't have to go into hiding. And then everyone'll be happy."

"Y-Yeah, sure," I said, trying not to choke.

"And we'll all be happy together, and in peace again, and. . . and. . ."

"Amy, don't cry," I said. "You can save your tears for when we do save the kingdom from this King. And when you do cry, they'll be tears of joy and happiness."

Amy looked directly in my eyes and smiled, just a small smile. "Okay Jinny."

I smiled back at her.

"And Jin?"

"Mhm?"

"Thank you."

I felt warm hands against my cheeks, hands used to pull me closer so she could kiss me, lightly and gently, on the lips. And then she pulled away and smiled.

"Thank you, Jin, so much," Amy whispered. She put a finger to her lips, a slightly blush on her cheeks before she ran south where Silver Land lay. It was a long way there, and I wished I told her something, maybe a "Good luck," or a "Be safe."

Amy certainly could stun someone.


	17. Chapter 16: Dragons Meeting

**Author's Note**: Oops, I forgot to submit this, so two chapters quickly.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 16: Dragons Meeting**

**

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**What I hated about having my main magical element being ice was the fact that it melted easily in hot temperatures. Including volcanoes. It's even worse because sometimes I felt like a big icicle at times and when I enter places with hot temperatures, such as a desert, or a volcano, it affects me greatly. Not even my magic with Saif's did much to help cool things down.

I think only motivation and desire to protect is what kept me in this volcano, or I would've left by now.

What Saif had said to Philan and I still echoed in my mind. "_Human hunters are here, armed with magic. I heard only a few words, but they plan to destroy the Dragon Ruby that lays in this volcano. We must go now._"

"I still don't get why anyone would want to destroy the Dragon gems," I muttered. The Dragon Emerald got destroyed and what happens? An earthquake, which killed so many of the flightless dragons that lived in the desert near the Emerald itself. . .

I bumped into Saif's tail.

"Ow?" I pushed his tail aside. "Why'd you stop?"

"More lava to cross," he answered, and I groaned.

"Wait for us!" someone behind us cried. Right, the Lass and the Arme.

"Can we hurry?" I crept over to the edge and peered down. The lava was closer up than in the previous room. Here, the lava was only a meter away.

"Get on my back," Saif said, and lowered himself. Quickly, I climbed on, grateful he didn't have any spikes like Philan's.

I made my way closer to the base of Saif's neck and held on tightly as he took off, the heat of the lava propelling Saif upward. Ahead of us by about a hundred meters was the opening to the next area. This room had no stone pathway to stand upon, but I didn't doubt the fact that the hunters had someone who had some form of teleportation magic.

"Who's exactly with the hunters?" I asked.

"Not sure, part of my observation was blocked with magic," Saif answered.

Below us, the magma seemed to be roiling violently. Was there something under there? Sometimes, large waves of magma erupted, some nearly reaching Saif, who flew higher up and growled.

"There's a lava dragon under there," he hissed. I gulped and looked down again.

Was it me, or was there a glowing orange that didn't seem to move?

From behind, Philan let out a loud roar before he spoke. "Saif, be careful! The lava dragons aren't too happy about us in here!"

Before Saif or I could remark, the lava dragon below erupted from the lava and flew straight towards us. Saif narrowly dodged the lava dragon, and if he hadn't kept up his magic shield, I would've been burnt.

Saif rolled over in the air twice before righting himself as I clung tightly to him.

I heard both Arme and Lass scream and looked over in time to see the lava dragon just narrowly miss Philan and his passengers as the lava dragon descended from its leap.

"Lava dragons don't have wings?" I asked, noting the lack of the mentioned limbs.

"Your books are wrong," Saif answered. "The lava gives the appearance of wings, but lava dragons can't fly. Instead, they fling themselves out of the lava to attack."

"At least they can't control their trajectory as well?" I hoped that was true.

"Well, they're pretty large, as you saw, so it wouldn't need to worry about aim." Saif let out a loud roar before he attempted a nosedive towards the opposite side of the room.

Just when I thought he made it, the lava dragon attacked again, this time hitting Saif and effectively knocking me off.

At first, the shock hit me first before the realization; I was falling towards the lava, and I couldn't fly.

At least my voice still worked.

"Philan! Help!" I yelled. I made no attempts to turn over so I wouldn't have to see the magma below.

I heard the flapping of his wings before I even felt them. Philan used his wings to knock me down onto his back, where Arme and Lass were, slightly shocked.

"You okay?" Arme asked, and I nodded shakily. I noticed how close we were to the magma, and was glad Philan caught me when he did. If he hadn't, I would've died, or at least suffered a lot of agonizing pain.

"Saif went under the magma!" Lass cried, looking down at the magma as Philan flew higher. Luckily for us, the lava dragon ended up submerging itself a good distance away from us.

"It's gonna get us again, isn't it?" Arme looked down as well.

"Y-Yeah, it will," I answered as Philan flew higher.

Just as the last portion of the lava dragon's tail disappeared under the magma, Saif flew up out of the magma and motioned for Philan to fly up near the ceiling of the room.

"What is that lava dragon thinking?" Saif hissed. "Usually they only attacked if provoked heavily!"

"Maybe it's defending the Dragon Ruby," Philan said. "Have you been out since the news of the Dragon Emerald?"

Saif shook his head no, glancing down occasionally, watching for the lava dragon.

"Dragons who live near a Dragon gem are being fiercely aggressive towards any outsider now," Philan explained. "No matter who it is or what it is, they will attempt to drive away anyone who dares to approach. No dragon wants what happened to the Dragon Emerald to happen to their Dragon gem they live near."

"They'll realize we're trying to help once the hunters get here and we must fight them," Saif hissed. "It's coming."

The noise of the magma signaled the lava dragon's leap, and both Philan and Saif were well prepared.

Both dragons split, flying in opposite directions quickly so as to not be too close to the lava dragon.

I noticed how the lava dragon looked like partially-cooled lava. It was very thin and serpentine. Its jeweled eye glowed orange with the intensity of its eye hidden underneath. The lava dragon seemed to have no hind or frontal limbs. Lava dragons were said to have been direct descendents of the Mother Dragon, and she had no frontal limbs, hind limbs, or wings.

A low, craggy resounded in the room, followed by two more. They sounded familiar to my ears. . .

"What was that?" Arme asked, looking around.

"Earth dragons!" Philan roared. "What are they doing here?"

Earth dragons? But they despised the volcano even worse than I did! Fire is their main weakness, along with ice, so what were they doing here?

"Traitors!" Saif roared. "Betrayers! Turn back now and go home!" Looking up to where I heard Saif's voice, I was shocked to see two earth dragons attempting to attack him.

One earth dragon was below Saif to prevent him from diving while the other was attempting to get close enough to attack. The earth dragons weren't going to get close to the magma if they could help it. . . But where was the third one?

"Incoming!" Lass yelled, and threw something, too quick for my eyes to catch.

A low thump was heard as contact was made, and I saw he had thrown something sharp at the earth dragon that had attempted to dive-bomb us, despite the threat of magma. The object Lass had thrown had struck the dragon's neck.

Philan folded his wings and dived closely to the lava, the earth dragon following him as closely as it dared. Suddenly Philan pulled out of his dive and shot up at about a forty-five degree angle.

I dared a glance back to see the earth dragon following closely still. Philan didn't fool it.

If Philan had dived into the magma though, he would've had to contend with the lava dragon, with three of us on his back, and it was extremely hard for non-dragons to fight under magma or lava.

"Didn't fool it," Philan hissed. "Thought these guys were dumber."

"That's just your arrogance speaking," I muttered.

"Get the damned thing for me!" Philan growled.

"Fine, fine." I slid down Philan's back to about his rump.

Using my legs to hold onto Philan and a hand to hold myself steady as I focused on the approaching earth dragon, I raised my other hand.


	18. Chapter 17: Volcanic Fight Pt I

**Author's Note**: Sorry for ending on this one, typed it after playing Elsword. . . Thus I fried my brain slightly.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 17: Volcanic Fight Pt. I**

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**Around us and above us were these giant icicles. They glimmered in the magma's orange light and had an orange-and-blue glow about them. The icicles stood out against the orange glow, and they weren't melting.

"What's this?" I asked. I attempted to try and investigate them a bit by probing the icicles with my magic but something shoved me away.

"Don't disturb me," Legna muttered, his hand outstretched to the side now, as if reaching for one of the icicles.

The icicles, I noticed, were following us as Philan flew.

Then two of the icicles flew away from us, right at the earth dragon chasing us. The dragon saw the ice aiming for it and it swerved to dodge while a third icicle swooped down to attack it. The third one managed to clip the dragon's wing, causing it to stagger in flight.

Just then, the lava dragon that was harassing us leaped up again, this time towards the earth dragon.

Too late, the earth dragon regained its flight only for the lava dragon to catch it in its mouth. There was a single, agonizing roar that made me press my hands to my ears.

After a few moments later, I pulled my hands away to see that the lava dragon had missed us again by a few meters. It nearly took out one of the earth dragons that were attacking Saif but the lava dragon missed.

"Okay, this is getting just a bit scary," I muttered.

"A bit?" Lass cried. "Say, where'd that Legna go?"

Lass's question prompted me to look around, not seeing the guy anywhere.

"Looks like he fell," I noted.

"Did not!" a voice cried. "Sort of."

The icicles still following us, I attempted to look down towards the underside of Philan, though it was a bit hard to. Then I noticed Legna hanging on to Philan's leg, his eyes glowing a pale light-blue with slightly darker blue markings under his eyes.

"I lost my balance," Legna said as he managed to get back onto Philan's back.

"Nice balancing." Lass snickered a bit.

"I don't have great balance, especially if I'm concentrating."

"At least I was higher up," Philan said, "or you'd have roasted."

"Just get us to Saif," Legna grumbled.

I looked back up to where Saif and the two earth dragons were.

Saif was still holding out, though I noticed a few scratches on his side and neck. Both earth dragons bore some wounds themselves, and I realized they were taking turns, though all three were probably tired due to having to fly without even landing anywhere. Then it occurred to me that Philan was probably tired as well.

"So," I said. "These earth dragons. . . What are they weak against?"

"Ice and fire," Legna said. "They're strong against wind though."

Ice and fire.

I took out my my staff; unfortunately I didn't have my war staff with me or I'd use that.

"What's Saif weak against?" I asked.

"He's a gem dragon and is not naturally weak to any element," Philan answered. "If they are not an elemental dragon, they usually do not have a weakness to any element or they have a weakness to an element you might not know. Saif's isn't fire or ice."

"Gotcha," I said and held up my staff. "Fly us closer!"

Philan growled slightly, as if not wanting to, but then he flew up higher, though he didn't get too close to the earth dragons.

"Can you go a bit closer?" I asked.

"Hang on then," Philan growled, and then he began a twisting, winding flight over to the earth dragons and Saif.

"Don't you dare get us killed," Legna grumbled as he slipped down Philan's side.

"Yet you decide to fall off?" Lass held on tightly to Philan's neck as the dragon's flight nearly knocked all three of us off.

"I didn't fall!" I took a quick look down to see that Legna was now nestled in Philan's claws. Wonder what he was planning.

"Just don't get in my way," I muttered, then glared at the earth dragon that approached us, roaring.

"You will all burn in this volcano and perish!" it roared before it shot out some sort of green, misty substance right at us.

Philan dived to avoid the mist, and Lass moved to hold me up.

"Hurry, Arme," he whispered.

"I will," I told him before I watched the earth dragon that attacked us. "Here goes."

I channeled my mana into my staff, causing it to glow a light blue. The image of the ice crystal appeared clearly in my mind, and I raised my staff.

"Ice Trap!" I thrust my staff in the direction of the earth dragon, which looked somewhat confused when nothing showed up for a second. I smiled.

Suddenly a large, blue, glowing circle appeared underneath the earth dragon and I immediately broke the spell as the first large ice crystal appeared. Before the earth dragon could even dodge, the entire spell activated and shattered, catching the dragon in a blast of ice.

The earth dragon let out a surprised, choking roar before it fell.

Where was the lava dragon?

I realized that it hadn't appeared for a while now.

"Nice shot, Arme," Lass whispered to me.

A loud roar interrupted me and I looked up just in time to see Saif bite the neck of the earth dragon. Bits of brown showered down upon Lass and I. The brown was actually dirt, which was now flecked with a dark red; blood. It seemed that Saif couldn't attack fiercely enough or the other earth dragon would have ended up attacking while Saif was busy.

"Go home, traitor!" Saif roared, and he used his tail to strike the earth dragon in the neck.

The earth dragon fell several feet before it righted itself and attempted to fly towards Saif again. By now, Philan was parallel to the earth dragon.

"Why are you even doing this, when you earth dragons can hardly stand this heat!" Philan yelled before he lunged at the earth dragon, digging his claws and teeth into its side. The earth dragon let out an agonizing growl and feebly attempted to get away from Philan.

Philan let go after a few moments, letting the earth dragon drop into the magma. Most likely the other earth dragon fell into the magma as well. I still wondered where the lava dragon was, though.

"Stinkin' earth dragons," Saif grumbled as he flew next to Philan as Philan proceeded forward.

"Um," Lass said.

"Yeah?" I glanced at Lass.

"Did. . . you drop Legna, Philan?" Lass asked.

. . . Philan did use his claws when attacking the earth dragon, but I didn't hear a scream.

Philan looked around before he turned back, followed by Saif, and landed on the ledge.

"Sorry," Philan said, and peered over the edge.

"You're lucky I didn't drop into the magma." Legna, who seemed to be slightly covered in ash, climbed onto Saif's back.

"You wouldn't have died that quickly." Philan let out a puff of smoke before he began flying again towards the place we were supposed to be heading.

"A waste of time, a waste of time," Saif said. "They're ahead of us, but I am positive I cannot sense anymore signs of a dragon asides from us and the lava dragon."

"What happened to that thing anyway?" I asked, looking back.

"Dunno," Saif answered, pulling ahead of Philan.

It wasn't that long until we reached yet another room, but this time, there were various people in it. They had a wide assortment of outfits, and it made me wonder if they came from various different locations. Some of the people had glowing hands; some had what seemed to be floating globs of fire, lightning, and various other types of things.

"Traitors!" Saif roared as he and Philan flew over the group of people and over to the other side of the room, where there was a large, shimmering ruby nestled in the wall of the volcano's stone.

Both dragons landed and faced the group of people who had gathered closer to the ruby.

"What are your intents, miserable humans?" Philan hissed.

Lass, Legna and I slid off the dragon's backs, standing a bit back but facing the group of people.

"Maybe you should ask what _their_ intents are!" a person shouted, pointing to Lass, Legna and I.

"What do you mean?" I responded.

"You three must know nothing about the plans the dragons have to destroy the entire populace of human beings on Dynas!" the same person said. "The dragons have become too numerous and are slaying so many people!"

"Maybe if you hunters weren't provoking the dragons into retaliation due to your hunts, then dragons wouldn't be killing any humans!" Saif growled. "Don't you know it is a crime to be hunting dragons? The higher-ups would give you death by torture!"

"But they aren't," the person replied, "and they _won't_! The higher-ups have realized the threat you dragons are to the well-being of humans, not to mention the other creatures that reside on this planet!"

Philan snorted before he slammed a claw into the ground, shaking the place slightly. "And you didn't think to just talk this out with the dragons? There may be some barbaric dragons, but not all of them are. The majority of them would think twice before killing a person so mercilessly!"

"We're not here to kill any dragons though," the person said. I still couldn't see who it was that was speaking. "Just let us through."

"You will kill the dragons that live in this volcano if we let you through," Legna said, stepping up.

He held his arm out to the side, and I noticed the two cloths that he wore on his arms were gone, most likely due to the fall he took. The large icicles appeared once more, many tinier ones in front of Legna.

Saif stepped forward, a glint in his blue eyes. "Come and get us if you dare."

Lass took out his nodachi while I held out my staff, really wishing I had my war staff with me.


	19. Chapter 18: Reminiscence

**Author's Note**: If I got the word wrong for the title, let me know and I'll fix it.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 18: Reminiscence**

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**It pained me to separate Grand Chase. It truly did. It meant the loss of something truly important to me. It was the loss of one of the greatest groups I've ever known.

Grand Chase was where I met some of my greatest friends. One was dead, the other was. . . She might as well be dead now.

So many lost, and still so much to lose.

I walked the streets of a now-ruined town. I didn't remember the name of it, but I did remember the numerous soldiers that patrolled the streets to put down the non-existent violence that happened.

One of the soldiers walked past me without even so much of a glance at me, my short, cropped hair and my tattered brown garments unremarkable. My sword blended in with my garments and was hidden under my jacket in its scabbard, ready to draw at any time.

"Hey!" I heard someone cry, and I quickly looked in the direction of the voice.

It turned out to be a soldier who seemed to loom over an old man, wrapped in a tattered blanket. The soldier kicked the old man once.

"Better watch where you're going, geezer," the soldier said, scowling.

"I-I'm sorry, so sorry," the old man said, cowering in fear.

I turned away just then so as to avoid the actions associated with the sounds that I heard. Early this day, I heard learned the consequences of intervening now in this corrupted kingdom. The wound on my arm had stopped bleeding only a few hours ago, but it still smarted every time I moved it. Better a wound than my life, at least.

The old man's screaming still echoed in my mind, so I tried my best to shut it out. Instead, I tried to fill my mind with the past, and our current situation.

I remember the five-year-long war where one of the Queens had died in an attempt to stop the war. It was the war that Kaze'aze had started. Because of her, I lost my father, at least for awhile. But because of her, I met my two best friends, Arme and Lire. Sure, we had fought a lot amongst each other, but it seemed to just drive us closer together.

Then there was Ryan, whom Lire had fallen immediately in love with. Ronan was next. . . Oh, Ronan. . . Despite who I was, he still fell for me, and I fell for him. Who knew how it happened but it did.

Lass. . . That prick was next, but he's a good prick, I suppose. In the end, he fell for the sadistic Arme, despite all the pain she put him through. Tough guy.

Jin was next, and well. . . He changed quite a bit during our time together. First he was aspiring, never willing to give up. Then he became. . . weird, but I suppose that was Kaze'aze's influence. Then he became more quiet, brooding. It was probably due to how the rest of the Grand Chase had treated him after a certain accident, but it changed him, maybe for the better.

There was Amy, who was hyper, pretty, and actually pretty sweet after we got to know her. At first, Lire and I were jealous, but we got over it. It was obvious the guys were infatuated, but it was just part of Amy's charm.

Sometimes I wondered if Amy and Jin would ever get together someday. It seemed that the two were maybe just a tad bit oblivious, but now it was just too late for them to be together, or they might get spotted more easily.

Grand Chase. . . Our goal was, at first, to go in search of Kaze'aze. Then it just turned into the Grand Chase fighting for the good of all. We fought the evil to save the innocent, to free those imprisoned. . . We would help those in need.

First it was three, then it grew to nine, then it went down to five, and now none. Maybe one day, one day when this is all over, Grand Chase will be free from the threat of death from a kingdom three of us was once proud of.

Soon I became aware of my surroundings; I had wandered into a neighboring town. When I was younger, before Grand Chase, my father, brother and I used to live here, just the three of us, happy together.

My father had trained my brother and I to become experts with a sword. He would train us whenever he felt like it, which turned out to be quite often despite his current laziness. Nearly every day, Sieghart would take my brother and I out into the nearby woods to train, and oftentimes Sieghart would leave us with plenty of bruises. Eventually, Sieghart wound up with plenty of bruises himself.

Then came the day of the war and our father left to fight in it. It was an agonizing five years where, for the most part, as my brother and I would look out for each other while our father fought in the war. At one point, the house was destroyed, forcing the two of us to live off the woods. The first couple of weeks were the worst, but eventually we learned.

After the war, I thought things would become normal again, and things were, for awhile. The three of us together had rebuilt our house, and it was just like our old home.

Then Sieghart was called to help track down Kaze'aze. That was the last time my brother ever saw him again. Kaze'aze had destroyed all those who went after her, except for our father. He ended up lost for awhile.

But after our father left, our town was attacked, and I lost my brother then. I never saw him again. . . It's been two years since I last saw him, and I cannot help but believe he is dead, which pains both me and Sieghart, though the latter tries not to show it.

I felt a pang of homesickness and, hoping that no one would realize who I was, decided to go home for the first time in about two or three years, I couldn't remember. Our house was on the other side of the town, I remembered, so I made my way over as quickly, yet as inconspicuously, as possible.

However, a soldier had noticed me.

"Hey kid, whatcha doin' here in the streets by yourself?" he asked me, standing in my way.

"I-I'm just headin' straight home," I answered, my voice sounding hoarse and a bit deeper than I normally spoke.

"Better get home before someone misses you, kid," the soldier said before he drew his sword. "After all, it does get dangerous out in the streets." Wait, was he going to attack me?

"P-Please don't kill me, sir," I pleaded, wishing I could just show this guy his place. But if I did, that would raise so many suspicions.

The soldier smirked. "Don't worry kid, I won't, but others just might not be as forgiving as I am." Wait, what did I do wrong, even? Wait, was there a curfew?

It seemed like the sun was just barely touching the horizon based on the deep reds and oranges in the sky.

"Scurry on home now, kid." Suddenly there was a flash of pain in my arm, right where my healing wound was. He stabbed me! Well, more like he sliced my arm, but either way, it hurt.

I managed choke back any noise as I clasped the wound tightly.

The soldier looked at me expectantly, so I simply just bowed my head and ran past him towards home.

One day, I swore I was gonna take revenge. Maybe I'd start with the King of Kanavan for allowing all this to happen. Or, more precisely, for _making_ this happen.

The warm, red liquid trickled down my arm, seeping through my fingers, as I ran and ran until I reached the house, out of breath and slightly light-headed.

Our house was just as I remembered it. The house was built primarily with wood and stone, pretty sturdy. The porch was mostly of wood, and was a nice little place to stay while it rained, keeping the rain off of you. The windows were closed, the cloth curtains looking as if they had a few holes in them. It looked as if the stone chimney was missing a few stones. Hopefully none would fall off while I was inside.

I tore off a strip of my jacket and tied it onto the wound tightly. After I finished wandering the house, I would look and see if any of the medicine we have was still here.

The wood creaked under my feet as I stepped onto the porch, just like it did when the three of us still lived here. It looked like some of the wood may have been rotting, though, so I avoided those parts of the porch.

Something felt wrong. I felt like I was being watched.

Immediately, I turned around only to see a flash of red duck behind the bushes.

"Who's there?" I called out, keeping my voice in that same boyish tone. My left hand went to the sword hilt, my right arm probably still bleeding.

"Don't move!" a voice cried out. "If you do, I'll chop you to pieces!" Arrogant.

"I'd like to see you try!" I challenged and pulled out my sword.

Whoever it was didn't answer back, so I assumed they were on the move.

I was right when I saw some bushes to my right shake slightly.

For the most part, I usually don't fight with my sword in my left hand, but it seemed I would have to this time. At least I practiced a bit in the case my right arm wouldn't be useable.

Immediately I swung right just as my assailant leaped out of the bushes toward me, and my heart nearly stopped.

That familiar red hair. That face. Those blazing red eyes.

A glowing red rune appeared in his left hand, which halted his leap. The red rune then left his hand and fell towards me, but I sidestepped quickly to my left as the rune harmlessly disintegrated into the wood.

"Stop!" I cried, my voice regaining the slightly-higher-pitch of my normal voice.

He recognized my voice as his eyes widened in shock as he stared right at me. It seemed to take him a few seconds to find his voice.

"S-Sis?" he finally managed to choke out.

I stuck my sword into the soft wood and leaned on it slightly, trying not to faint. "You're really. . . my brother? Elsword?"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Yep, it's official, this will be a three-way cross-over. It'll be my first time writing with Elsword characters though so. . . bear with me if I make them kind of. . . OOC. I'll be experimenting with personalities.


	20. Chapter 19: Volcani Fight Pt II

**Author's Note**: Let's just say I suck at fight scenes. . .

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 19: Volcanic Fight Pt. II**

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I wondered if any of these guys could use any area-of-effect skills. If so, I was going to negate it all.

Two of the hunters launched the first attack, a large spell circle surrounding all of us. Immediately I placed one hand on the ground, creating a large, rectangular glowing area. Only moments later did numerous bolts of lightning crash down, only to disintegrate harmlessly.

"What just happened?" Arme cried. "Never mind! Shock stun!" Her staff glowed a bright yellow before she stuck it forward at the hunters, a large bolt of energy shooting out. Those that were hit were stuck with an additional wave of lightning.

Many of the hunters who were struck went down, some not moving. Those still standing ran towards us, weapons and hands glowing with magic. How many were there?

Philan let out a thunderous roar before he lunged forward, taking down two hunters at once with his powerful front legs. He then turned his head to bite at another hunter who managed to dodge and swing his sword at Philan. The sword sliced a thin red path in the scales, causing Philan to give out a snarl.

Suddenly the hunter who struck Philan went down, a knife in his neck. Lass was behind the hunter, holding up another knife and a thin sword.

"So. . . can we win this?" Lass asked before he threw his knife at a hunter who had dared to approach Arme.

"Just keep the Dragon Ruby protected and we will," Philan answered. "Duck!" Philan took to the air instead of ducking, though. Instinctively, I fell to the ground just as something flew a foot above my head.

I leaped up and backwards, my back pressing against the wall, and I noticed a spear stuck in the wall next to me very close to the Ruby. Angered, I pulled it out and wrote down three runic symbols using a bit of mana, then I used the wooden end to prod Lass with.

"What?" Lass jumped over next to me, a hunter falling to the ground in a pool of blood.

"Throw this," I said, giving Lass the spear, the sharp metal point glowing blue.

"Why can't you?" Lass took the spear anyway and threw it at a hunter near the back.

"Bad aim," I answered before I ran towards a hunter who seemed intent on getting past Saif.

I adjusted the amount of mana in an ice spear so it sank closer to the ground, then shifted its position so one of the sharp ends turned towards the hunter. With a burst of mana, I shot the ice spear at the hunter, who had noticed me by then and held up a hand to stop it, successfully. He then flicked his finger and sent my ice spear back at me.

I tried to stop it, but realized I couldn't so I had to leap out of the way as the ice spear imbedded itself into the wall. Luckily, the hunter missed the Dragon Ruby.

To keep that hunter from manipulating anymore of my ice spears, I let all of them melt away, forcing myself to rely on runic and spell magic.

The hunter I had targeted was now after me, a wood-and-metal spear in his hand, the metal glowing blue with engraved runes.

"Give up, mage," the hunter hissed at me as he thrust his spear toward my feet. As I jumped out of the way, I traced a glowing blue line in the air before ending it with a runic symbol for "fire".

"Ignite," I told the hunter, and the air in front of him burst into flames, causing the room to get even hotter. Quickly, I stepped back and away from the flames.

At first, I thought him trapped enough and decided to take on another hunter before I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. Nearly staggering, I looked down to see an ice spear imbedded in my stomach.

"A tad weak, that fire spell." The flames immediately disappeared, leaving the hunter unscathed with a smirk on his face. Around him were large ice spears, and unlike me, his eyes weren't glowing blue, nor were the blue markings under his eyes.

I tried to use my mana to remove the ice spear but it wouldn't budge and I felt a tad dizzy. The blood felt too warm as it dripped down my leg.

One of the spells I had learned about a year ago came into my head, but it was a bit fuzzy. Either way, I wasn't exactly ready to think things out before trying.

"Spell breaker," I said a bit hesitantly. Spell breaker would break a spell. It could break this, right?

I thought I heard a cry of surprise from the hunter. Had it worked?

The liquid running down my leg grew a bit, and I fell to my knees, dizzier. I could see red that expanded outward and wondered what it was, along with that metallic stench in the air.

I felt myself being lifted up, and I closed my eyes. The thought that I had lost a lot of blood at once crossed my mind, and I decided that was probably true, yet I didn't feel worried.

"If you die I'll make sure to revive you and kill you again!" I heard someone yell, and opened one eye slightly. There was a lot of purple in my vision and I wondered if something was wrong with my vision.

Then there was this soft, light feeling coursing through my body, and I felt my mind grow more solid. And then it hit me.

The hunter had shot an ice spear into my abdomen and I attempted to use a spell to get rid of it. I ended up freeing the ice spear but caused the blood to flow unobstructed, leading to a quick blood loss due to the size of the wound. Then I'm not sure what happened, but in the end, someone healed me, namely Arme.

"T-Thanks," I managed to say, sitting up. She could use both offensive and healing magic, interestingly.

"What were you thinking, just standing there like that?" Arme snapped, glaring at me, and I shrugged.

"It only occurred to me that I should try and get rid of the ice spear before he tried to force it through my body," I answered.

"Well, I guess either way could have killed you, but didn't you hear Saif?" Arme asked.

"No," I answered. Had Saif called to me or something?

Lass landed in front of us before throwing a knife at someone.

"How many daggers do you have, Lass?" Arme stood up and walked over to Lass.

"Plenty," he answered. "Better than kunais, really, but I can't carry as much due to size and weight."

"What are you, a ninja?" I asked, standing up slowly.

"A thief, an assassin, a dark assassin, and an evan striper," Lass answered. "You're. . . feeling all right, right?"

I did a quick mental check of myself before I answered. "I feel better now, thanks to Arme."

"Don't make me do that again," Arme grumbled before she dashed into a group of hunters who were attempting to encase Saif in ice.

"What-" I started, about to try and run over to her before Lass stopped me.

"You don't want to get caught," he told me. "Just watch." So I did.

"Get the fuck out of here!" Arme yelled before she slammed her staff into the ground.

Magma erupted from the ground, engulfing so many of the hunters who screamed in pain and agony. Many of them died instantly but the rest were covered in molten rock and on fire, some dying soon after.

"Gruesome, eh?" Lass said, and I shrugged.

"Might've been a bad idea, though," I just said.

"Er, maybe."

Suddenly, there was an agonizing roar from behind the two of us and we both turned at the same time.

Philan was covered in numerous bleeding wounds and his claws were held tight with glowing yellow-white strands of light magic. Next to him, the Dragon Ruby. . . Oh no. . . The Dragon Ruby was sliced directly in half, a red, thick liquid seeping from the cracks and onto the ground.


	21. Chapter 20: Elsword

**Author's Note**: Oops, I forgot to submit this chapter. . . Sorries.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 20: Elsword**

**

* * *

**"Thanks," I said as Elsword finished tying up the gauze onto my arm. "So you're really here. . ." I reached out to pinch his cheek.

"Y-Yeah, I can't believe you're here." Elsword swatted my hand away with a slight pout on his face and I let out a slight chuckle. He never did like it when I treated him like a little kid.

"You've certainly grown," I noted. When the two of us weren't attacking anymore and had approached each other, I realized that he was an inch or two taller than I was.

"You have too," Elsword said and smiled. "But not as much as I have!"

"It's about time, too," I teased. "I always wondered if you were ever gonna get bigger!"

"Of course I was! I was. . . just taking my time." Elsword's smile disappeared as he asked, "But. . . where's our father?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. Sieghart had left us almost immediately after we arrived back in Bermesiah; he had the right idea. Right now, I bet he was in hiding.

"Why'd you cut your hair short?" Elsword asked me, reaching a finger out to the short hair I now wore.

"It was necessary," I said. "This group I was in, every member of it will be executed if we're found, and I'm known for my long, red hair." I took a look at Elsword's own hair.

He'd let it grown out, but he tied some strands of his hair together, giving him two tied strands in front and a thin ponytail in back. As always, Elsword's hair looked as if he hadn't combed it for a few weeks.

"You let your own grow out," I noted. "Careful they don't mistake you for me."

"They'll realize I'm not you when they realize I'm not a girl. Plus, I could handle them on my own."

I said nothing at that. Elsword was still a bit like me; quick to anger, quick to rush in without thinking. He still had some growing up to do, as did I, really.

"Are you traveling alone still?" I asked, sort of doubting that. I mean, if Elsword was alive and well, it was possible he made a few friends along the way.

"No, I travel around with my friends now," Elsword said, smiling again. "They're good friends. Except Rena's kind of scary." Elsword began looking a little scared now, and I wondered just how scary this Rena person was.

"Who's your friends you travel with?" Elsword asked, looking eager, and it was hard not to feel his enthusiasm. It had been so long since we last seen each other. I mean, only a couple years or so, sure, but it felt so long.

"We technically don't travel much anymore due to the current happenings," I said, "but they're Lire, Arme, Lass, Ryan, Ronan, Jin and Amy. Two of them are dead though, and the other two, I have no clue. . ."

Elsword came over and sat down next to me, put an arm around my shoulders, and pulled me into a hug. I would've cried then but I had already cried after the funeral; I had cried all I could that day, and now I felt as if I couldn't cry again. At least not now, anyway.

"I haven't lost a friend yet," Elsword said after awhile. "And. . . I don't really want to. I mean, first we both lost our father, then he came back, then got lost again, then I lost you and. . ."

"Elsword, you won't ever lose father, as he'll never die," I said, "but you'll lose me one day, forever. Or I'll lose you forever first, but you know you can't be thinking about that forever."

"I-I know but. . . It'll be so sad!" Elsword cried and he hugged me tightly.

"Elsword. . ." I warned as I patted his arm.

He pulled away and put on a big smile. "I'll try, I'll try! 'kay, sis?"

I smiled back. "Promise you won't linger upon the losses, okay?"

"Promise!" Elsword said.

"Now then," I said, "tell me the friends you've made on your journey, and the places you've been."

"Wait, you didn't tell me 'bout the places you've been to!" Elsword frowned.

"I asked you first," I told him. "Which means you gotta tell _me_ first!" Deep down, I just wished that Elsword would just keep this little kid part of him forever, but that'd just be selfish of me.

"Fine, fine, okay. Um, first, I met this girl named Aisha," Elsword said, holding up a finger. "We kind of argue a lot, but we get along well for the most part now!" Kind of reminded me of Arme and I; we argued quite a lot, but now we got along quite nicely. "Then there's Rena; she's kind and smiles like, a lot, and she's really friendly. But she's. . . scary when mad." Here, Elsword started shaking a bit. What had this Rena girl done?

"There, there, I'm sure she's not as bad now, right?" I said encouragingly while holding Elsword close to me.

"Y-Yeah, we all learned not to make her mad," Elsword said, his shaking stopping. "But sometimes we do. . . But it's not that bad.

"Then there's Raven. He's pretty strong and he's really knowledgeable about fighting and swords! In fact, he taught me a bit," Elsword continued. "Though, that was after he opened up to us after awhile. He used to be kind of silent and brooding. He's quite serious.

"Lastly, there's Eve. She's. . . hm. . ." Elsword paused for a second. "She's. . . Do you know what an android is?"

"A. . . what?" I looked at Elsword, confused.

"She's. . ." Elsword hesitated. "Would you be shocked or surprised if I said she's half human, half robot? 'Cause that's what she is."

It was shocking.

"How. . . does that work?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure," Elsword answered. "I guess it just does."

"Well, how is she. . . half robot?" I tried asking.

Elsword just shrugged. "I really don't know. She doesn't say anything about it. It seems to kind of pain her. Actually, she seems kinda emotionless sometimes, but she used to like slapping me a lot." He rubbed his cheek a bit. "But apparently it's because I broke the Elstone. Either way, she like, shows more human emotions now, and that's good!"

Odd girl, I wonder what happened to her though?

"Your friends sound interesting," I said. "So the five of you just travel wherever or something?"

"Pretty much. We traveled to Ruben and Elder and Besma and Altera and-" Elsword continued but I stopped him.

"Elsword, I, um, don't really know where or what those places are," I told him.

"O-Oh, sorry. Um, it's like a-" Before Elsword could continue, he was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass.

Alarmed, I quickly stood up while drawing my sword. "Who's there?"

I heard Elsword stand up beside me, drawing his rectangular sword. Does he give his enemies concussions or something?

"Run, upstairs," Elsword whispered, and he ran forward and took a left up the stairs. Not thinking, I followed him just as I heard the sound of wood splintering. The sound of footsteps following us made me run faster in an attempt to catch up with my brother.

He jumped up when he reached the second floor and yanked at a string that was attached to the ceiling. Were we going up to the roof?

"Hurry!" Elsword cried as he ran up the stairs to the attic that hadn't even reached the ground level yet.

I jumped onto the stairs and they landed with a thump, nearly throwing me off balance. Through the steps, I could see that our pursuers were some of the soldiers.

"Elesis!"

For a second, I wanted to chop the stairs off so as to keep the soldiers from following, but the wood seemed too thick to cut. Abandoning that, I ran up into the dusty attic, nearly sneezing, and then headed to the ladder in the middle of the room.

There was a square of light that engulfed the ladder and I figured Elsword had already climbed up so I made my way up quickly.

Elsword was at the lowest edge of the roof, and he was motioning for me to get over.

"Are we really jumping the roof?" I cried.

"You're not scared of heights, are you?" Elsword grabbed a hold of my hand, not letting me answer, and pulled both of us off the roof.

The two of us managed to land on the grass below safely, but I paused to glare at my little brother.

"That was stupid, you could've killed one of us!" I yelled, but Elsword just smiled. "What?"

"You and I both know that we were prepared for that jump." Then Elsword pulled me along as he ran into the bushes.


	22. Chapter 21: Flee the Volcano

**Author's Note**: Kinda got into writing this chapter, so that's good~ And NaNoWriMo ends soon, hurr. . .

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 21: Flee the Volcano**

**

* * *

**"Run, now!" Saif commanded as he barreled into the remaining hunters to reach Philan. What were those yellow-white glowing strands that were bound to his claws?

"Arme, c'mon!" Lass cried as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along, nearly causing me to stumble.

"Careful, jeez!" I cried as I managed to not fall over and ran, Lass pulling me with him. "But should we be leaving Saif and Philan like this?"

"Saif knows what he's doing!" Legna said as he ran behind us, but I thought I heard him say softly, "I think." Greeeat.

Then I realized something important.

"Um, guys," I said, trying to slow down a bit, but Lass refused to.

"Yeah?" Lass glanced my way.

"How do we all get across the magma in the next area?" I asked.

Neither of the two answered me for awhile as we ran, now in silence. Well then. . .

"Maybe you could teleport us?" Lass suggested, and I shook my head.

"I wouldn't be able to make it that far a gap," I said. "And even if I could, that'd be a huge drain on my mana and I wouldn't be able to take all three of us."

Soon we reached the room with no stone bridge for us to cross and stopped. Maybe we could wait for Philan and Saif.

"Do you think we sh-" I began before a large tremor shook the entire place, it seemed. It lasted only a few seconds but it was pretty noticeable. "Okay, was that the volcano?"

"I think it might erupt. . ." Legna said, looking down into the magma, a worried look on his face. Poor guy, this heat was probably killing him and the thought of dying in magma. . .

"Help me!" Lass cried as he clung to my arm. "Help us all get out of here, oh great Starkiln!" I wonder if he realized Starkiln couldn't hear him?

"Say, is that lava dragon still down there?" I asked, curiously peeking down. The magma seemed to be very turbulent, probably a good indicator of either something down there, or the volcano getting itself ready to erupt.

Suddenly another tremor hit, causing me to fall off the edge, and I screamed.

"Lass!" I yelled, and ended I up dropping my staff! Oh crap. . .

The magma stopped approaching in my vision as I felt someone grab a hold of my leg. Then the magma grew a bit farther away as I was pulled up. Finally, I was pulled into Lass's arms as he held me tightly.

"Oh gods, Arme, I nearly had a heart attack," he murmured in my ear.

"Sorry," I said as I buried my face in the front of Lass's shirt and stayed still for a bit as I tried to get my heart to settle down.

"We should fly," Legna muttered. "Gotta fly. . ."

"How are we gonna fly without a dragon?" Lass asked.

"I. . . think I could carry you guys over," Legna answered. "Maybe."

"Excuse me?" I looked up in disbelief. "You can't even fl-" I stopped when I noticed the outlined dragon features from before that overlaid Legna's features; the wings, the claws, the tail, the dragon's head, his eyes. . . But he didn't look as. . . feral as he did before.

"Explain," I demanded after I found my voice. Then another tremor shook us all, and I held onto Lass tightly, fearful of falling again.

Soon, the tremors stopped, but it took longer this time. I was starting to get really scared.

"Stand up, you two," Legna said, so the two of us did. "No protests. Hang onto my back or something." Legna approached the ledge and looked back at us. Was he crazy? Like hell he could carry us, even if it was just one at a time!

"F-Fine!" Lass gave me a quick hug before he straight-out tackled Legna. The two of them fell forward slightly, not enough to take them over the edge. But then, Legna placed his hand on the edge and leaped off, the outlined wings spreading wide.

At first, I thought the two of them were gone for good, and I ran over to the edge and cried out Lass's name, desperately hoping the worst hadn't happened. And then, I noticed the two, the glowing dragon features a beacon against the reds and oranges of the magma's glow.

How was this possible? I mean, I'd seen Legna fly once back at Bermesiah, but he hadn't even been holding anyone! In fact, it didn't even seem like he could really carry anyone. Was this some kind of strange magic found only in this world?

At the far edge, Legna and Lass both landed, looking pretty safe. It seemed the lava dragon didn't attack, or was it gone now? I got down on my knees and tried to press my weight tightly against the floor as I peered over the edge.

From the time when I first saw the magma to now, it seemed as if the magma had rose a bit, bubbling even more now. In fact, some of the bubbles were pretty large, one popping dangerously close to my face despite the fact the magma was at least a good three yards down.

And then another tremor shook, this time causing a small crack to appear under me. This surprised and shocked me greatly, and I jumped slightly. That was enough to cause me to fall over the edge once again, and this time there was no one to save me.

I screamed as I went head-first towards the lava before I was slammed against the cavern wall, my breath rushing out. Due to the force of the impact, I felt I was gonna get a bruise.

Then the pressure lessened and I fell a bit, this time into someone's arms, but I had closed my eyes by then.

I whimpered, slightly out of pain, slightly out of fear, and then I felt the hot floor underneath my back.

Opening my eyes slightly, I saw the pale blue eyes and brown hair of Legna.

"Y-You saved me?" I managed to say as I finally started to breathe a bit normally again, and he nodded, his hair brushing against my face.

"Why don't you be more careful next time?" Legna grumbled before he stood up. "Can you stand?"

"Um." Carefully and slowly, I attempted to stand, noticing that it the damage done to me wasn't that bad.

Soon I was back on my feet, though I swayed slightly.

Legna grabbed a hold of my wrist as he said, "Hold on tight, and please don't choke me like your boyfriend did."

So we were gonna fly over now. Great.

As Legna knelt down, I wrapped my arms around his neck though I tried to keep my grip loose enough to not choke him. However, I started to choke him as I felt his hands against my legs.

"Stop! Stop!" Legna cried and I did as he let me go.

"What're you trying to do?" I demanded.

"This is why your stupid Lassy choked me, and this is why I asked not to choke me!" Legna snapped. "I can't hold onto you any other way or I might not be able to fly right!"

"I can see why Lass choked you," I grumbled. "You sure you're not trying to feel me up?"

"No! First off, you're hardly my type, and second of all, I'm engaged and would never even _dare_ to cheat with a pint-sized purple midget such as yourself!" Legna growled.

"I am not short!" I yelled. "If I had my staff on me, you'd be roasted worse than a piece of paper that fell into a volcano!" I instead decided to yank on Legna's hair, which caused him to cry out.

Then I realized something.

"You're engaged?" This seemed odd to me. I never recalled seeing an engagement ring on him.

"Yes! Can we go now?" Legna shoved me off his back before he proceeded to shove me over. I let out a cry of protest but he caught me and then turned, ran, and took off, carrying me bride-style.

"If I drop you, it's all your fault, got it?" Legna grumbled.

"Flying's too intimate," I responded. "So where's your engagement ring?"

"Left it at home, 'cause I might lose it," was the answer.

"But wouldn't your bride to-be get mad if you're not wearing it?" I smirked.

"She'd understand," Legna said. "She left hers at home as well, though I don't know where she went off to." Hmph.

I could see Lass on the other side as we approached, and he looked pretty pissed. The reason why was probably obvious.

As soon as Legna landed, he set me down, which caused Lass to lunge at Legna.

"You!" Lass cried. "You groped her!"

"I didn't!" Legna cried as he managed to dodge Lass's attack.

"You did! Now hold still!" Lass took out a dagger and attempted another lunge.

"Will you. . ." Legna turned and ran, causing Lass to give chase.

Boys.

"Lass, wait up!" I yelled as I began chasing after the two. Okay, so maybe Lass had a reason to be mad, but couldn't it wait until _after_ we got out of here? I mean, that was more important, really.

Soon we reached the first room we had encountered, the one with a stone bridge. What shocked me was the fact that there were arches of magma above the stone. The magma dripped on the stone occasionally, but would then slide off the stone and back down into the magma below. How those two _idiots_ weren't melted by now was beyond me.

"He-" I started to yell before I was interrupted by a loud and oh-so familiar roar. "Saif!"

I turned around to see both Saif and Philan flying this way pretty quickly, and I began to wonder how I was going to avoid them when Saif flew down close enough to pick me up as he flew past me.

"Hey!" I screamed as I was flung onto his back. I noticed that both Legna and Lass had stopped running long enough to look back.

Lass was taken by Saif, and Legna by Philan.

Both dragons, with all three of us humans in tow, flew out of the volcano as a loud explosion was heard.

Looking back, I saw the lava erupting from the side entrance we used and from the volcano's top. The smoke poured out heavily, the lava flowing down like water.

Saif and Philan took a turn and flew back towards the volcano, keeping a good distance from it but still close by.

Was it me, or was there something off about the top of the volcano?

"The volcano is now crumbling," Saif growled sadly. "Can you see, Arme, how quickly the lava runs?"

"Yes," I answered, wondering what he was getting at.

"Lava dragons will be flushed out of their homes due to how fast the magma and lava runs," Saif continued. "They will die as they cannot survive out of lava and magma for that long. The volcano will crumble and seal off the entrance back into the lava, stranding the lava dragons out here as the lava they rely on cools and hardens."

I said nothing as I watched the lava flow, now noticing what I thought were just lumps of lavas as lava dragons. The volcano shrank as the lava flowed, until soon it was nothing more than a small lump of glowing rock.


	23. Chapter 22: Chased

**Author's Note**: I can't seem to write anything good when it comes to Elesis's point of view. . . Ff.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 22: Chased**

**

* * *

**"You know, bro," I said as I ran, "we might as well just fight the soldiers. Doesn't sound like they're gonna give up anytime soon."

The two of us had been running for awhile now, and I could still hear the shouts of the soldiers behind us.

"But what if there's too many of them?" Elsword asked. I could see he was getting tired, and I my legs were starting to feel kind of sore from all this running. How long had we been running? At least an hour?

"Elsword. . ." I started, as I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword.

"Almost there!" Elsword cried as his pace grew. "I just know we're almost there!"

"Where are we going?" I demanded.

"It's not a trap, I promise!"

"I never said it was one!"

"Just wait, please! We're almost there!"

I had no choice but to run faster as Elsword kept going faster, not pausing to stop or even look behind him.

Was it me, or did this area look familiar? It seemed like we had ended up running towards the Forsaken Barrows.

At night, this place was pretty creepy. . . But the monsters were weak to me, and hopefully to Elsword too.

There was a faint whistling very close to my ear and then there was the sound of a body falling to the ground. As we ran, I turned my head to see that a soldier had fallen to the ground, an arrow straight through his heart. So Elsword was friends with an archer?

"C'mon, almost there!" Elsword cried as we finally entered the Forsaken Barrows. Behind us, I heard yelling and the sound of two more bodies falling. Good aim. . . But where was the archer?

Then there was another sound, like metal hitting metal and I turned to look once more. Now the soldiers had shields that they used to deflect the arrows with. When did they have those? Then I recognized the familiar Kanavan Royal Guard emblem and felt a surge of anger in me.

How could they be loyal to the King? How could they do this to us? How did this even happen? Why, why, _why_?

"Sis, what's wrong?" Elsword asked, looking at me worriedly.

"Nothing," I said, struggling to keep my voice even.

"You look mad. . . Is it because of the soldiers?"

I nodded, wondering what Ronan would think of this.

The arrows soon stopped once the archer realized that the arrows weren't getting through, so now what? Could we fight now?

I was about to slow down when a shadow covered us momentarily followed by the sound of someone landing somewhere back behind us. The soldiers stopped, and I decided to stop as well, yanking on Elsword's arm to stop him.

"What was that?" I asked him as I watched the soldiers look back.

"I think that's Raven," Elsword answered, panting. "He's a very fast attacker."

I was about to ask how fast when I saw a blur go through the soldiers and a black-haired man landed close to my brother and I, surprising me.

The soldiers seemed stunned for a second before numerous large cuts appeared on their bodies. All of the soldiers fell, either dead or now dying. That was. . . fast.

"Who is this, Elsword?" the man apparently named Raven asked. His golden eyes stared right into my eyes, and it was kind of hard not to look away.

"This is my sister, Elesis!" Elsword answered. "You. . . might not be able to tell due to her hair but it used to be pretty and long!"

"I see." Raven looked back at the soldiers that lay dead. "So why exactly did you have soldiers following you?"

"Um. . ." Elsword looked at the soldiers. "I don't know why they were even following us in the first place. I mean, my sis and I were just in our old home, talking."

"So you didn't bother to try and keep any type of watch?"

I suppose we were just caught up in the moment. . .

"Aw, Raven, give them a break," someone behind us said. "Remember how Elsword said it was at least a year or so since he last saw his big sis?"

I thought I saw Raven blush a bit but then his face was normal again as he said, "I suppose, but they could have been a bit more careful. You had to waste some of your arrows due to these two."

Elsword turned to give someone a big smile. "Thanks, Rena!"

I turned to see who this Rena was, only to be met with something large and squishy, which I was pressed into. Arms that went around me held me in place, and I could hardly breathe. What the hell?

"What a cutie!" I heard. It sounded like it was the person hugging me! "What's his name? And where's the sister?" Apparently they did not realize that _I_ was the sister.

"Mmph!" was all I managed to say as I tried to struggle free from her grasp.

"R-Rena, that's her, Elesis," Elsword said and he managed to pull me away.

As I took a few deep breaths to calm myself from my near-suffocation, I took a look at this Rena.

Her eyes were a yellow-green color that nearly matched her more yellower hair. The outfit she wore was mostly green and white with gold trim that showed off her cleavage, which I nearly suffocated on. . . The bow she had was quite spectacular, as if it were something someone of a high-rank would use. What surprised me, however, were her ears; they were long and pointed, just like Lire's. So was Rena an elf and an archer, just like Lire?

"S-So, you're Rena?" I managed to say after a few tries.

"Mhm. I'm sorry about that, though," Rena said as she took my hand and shook it. "You seem a little shocked."

"You. . . just remind me of someone I knew," I told her, quenching the emotions that wanted to show themselves.

At my words, Rena seemed surprised. "She's an elf too?"

I nodded and corrected her. "'Was.' She's. . . dead now." My eyes closed as I remembered Lire and I noticed that she did look similar to Rena, though this elf seemed more. . . more. . . The word wouldn't come to me so I gave up.

"I-I'm sorry." Rena came up and pulled me into another hug, though it wasn't quite so choking.

From behind, Elsword hugged me as well and said, "I wish it never happened." He sounded like he wanted to cry for me.

"It's okay, but thank you," I said as I pulled away from both hugs. "Say, why are you guys at the Forsaken Barrows anyway?"

"It was Elsword's idea," Raven answered. "Though, he may have gotten lost."

"Hey, don't blame me!" Elsword cried. "I. . . kinda forgot where the Marsh of Oblivion was." Elsword looked down sheepishly.

I just shook my head in amusement. "Sometimes I get the two places mixed up, seeing as how close together they are. But, where's the other two? You said you were a group of five, right?"

"Oh, they're back this way, near the shore!" Rena turned as she said, "C'mon, let's go! They're waiting for us!"

Raven went after Rena as Elsword and I trailed behind.

"So, is there anything I should know before-hand?" I asked.

"I don't think so, 'cept Eve but I told you already," Elsword answered. "Oh, and don't mention Aisha's height." Sounded like Arme, and I sighed.

"What's wrong, sis?" Elsword asked me.

"It's nothing, let's go." I quickened my pace on purpose so as to avoid anymore questions.

Where was Lass, and more importantly, Arme? I couldn't bear to lose both of my closest friends.


	24. Chapter 23: Back Home

**Author's Note**: No author's note tonight.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 23: Back Home**

**

* * *

**I looked at the smoldering gray lumps that lay on the ground. There was no way to distinguish lava from dragon as they both looked the same now. For some reason, seeing the dead dragons made me think about how other types of dragons would look dead, but then I shook the thought away as too grim to think about.

"They're not all gone, are they?" Arme asked.

"Not entirely," Saif answered, "but this will affect the other lava dragons and they will seek revenge. On who, I'm not too sure about." Hopefully not us.

Philan flew closer to Saif as he spoke. "Saif, the lava from the crystal cavern has stopped flowing now. I believe it's due to the volcano's collapse."

Saif nodded before he flew down to the cavern we had once came out of.

"What are we doing?" Arme asked as she held on tightly to Saif.

"It's time to take you two back," Saif answered.

"What?" I didn't exactly want to leave yet; there was a lot of this world I wanted to see. After what had happened, it got me interested in what this world contained. Bet Arme wanted to stay too.

"W-Wait, why can't we stay?" Arme asked, confirming what I had guessed.

"Too dangerous," Saif said. "You've no clue what's going to happen, and Philan, Legna and I have no clue what'll happen either. You're safer back home, wherever your home is."

"Please," I scoffed. "Where we live, monsters will attack us without warning. We've lived in danger, we've lived through danger. We're experienced fighters!"

"Maybe because you know what you're dealing with where you live," Saif said, "but here, there may be things you've never seen before. How many times have you fought a dragon? How many times have you fought someone with weapon magic? How many times have you fought a kalifa?"

"Er, few times, I'm not sure, and what's a kalifa?" I asked.

"Exactly my point." Saif had entered the cavern. "I'm only doing this to prevent your unnecessary deaths. Do you two not have any loved ones who miss you?"

That caused both Arme and I to be silent. Truthfully, I had been so into this that I had forgotten about the others,and I felt guilty. So, so guilty. We'd been gone for at least a few hours now, maybe about five, and I'd mostly forgotten about the others.

The cavern smelled like sulfur, making me gag. The stench wasn't as strong, but still.

Saif landed in the middle of a spherical room, which was covered in dried-up lava that crunched under the dragon's claws. He snorted once and let out a puff of smoke as he walked into another tunnel. The smoke smelled like burnt meat. . .

"This sounds selfish of me Lass, but I really want to stay here," Arme told me.

"I feel the same way too, Arme," I said. "You're not alone."

"It's just. . . this world's so. . . different, and so interesting, I really want to see what it's all like," Arme said.

"Yeah, but. . . our friends. . ." I looked down at the ground, not saying anymore.

The three of us were silent as the tunnel grew darker and darker until a familiar blue glow appeared.

"We're here," Saif announced and he sat down roughly, causing Arme and I to fall off. Luckily, I managed to catch Arme on top of me.

The two of us stood up as we looked at the blue gem. This was the Dragon Sapphire, and if it was destroyed. . . I tried not to think about it.

"You two arrived from here," Saif said. "Touch the Dragon Sapphire and you two shall return home."

I sighed as I held Arme's hand tightly. Time to go back.

"Ready Arme?" I took a quick glance back at the tunnel we came through.

"Yeah, let's go," Arme said, a hint of longing in her voice. Her curiosity was obvious.

"Farewell, you two," Saif said as he stepped back, allowing the two of us to approach the Dragon Sapphire.

"Bye," both Arme and I said together we touched the Dragon Sapphire.

That same feeling of being sucked in was there, and my vision turned black and I tightened my grip.

When I was conscious again, I was aware of Arme's warm, soft hand in my own. The rocky, slightly red walls of the Gorgos' Lair was around us, and through the entrance, I could see the sun setting. Only gone a few hours. . .

I let go of Arme's hand as I stood up, nearly falling back over from dizziness. It took a few minutes of standing and leaning against the wall before the dizziness disappeared. For the whole time, I made sure to keep an eye on the purple in my vision.

"Arme, wake up," I said as I nudged her.

"Go 'way," Arme muttered as she hit me with her staff.

"Ow!" I pulled back and rubbed my shoulder. I hadn't realized she had her staff in her hand. When'd she pull it out?

"C'mon Arme, it's me, Lass!" I decided to try a bit more of a "drastic" approach and leaned down and kissed Arme on the lips.

"Mm." Arme's hand reached up to pull me closer, her fingers entwined in my hair. I felt her tongue against my lips but I resisted the urge to let her in. Instead, I pulled back and then proceeded to kiss Arme roughly on the neck, causing her to let out a loud yelp.

"Lass!" Arme's eyes shot open as shoved me away.

"What?" I asked. "I was only trying to wake you up." I looked at her innocently.

"I thought you were a monster," Arme grumbled as she rubbed her neck, a slight blush on her cheeks. She looks so cute when flustered. . .

"We're back, y'know," I said, looking over my shoulder at the area outside the cave.

"Back in Kanavan," Arme said softly.

When I turned back to Arme, I saw that she was looking longingly at the back wall. I knew what she was thinking, and I wrapped my arms around her stomach, resting my head on her shoulder.

"Arme, you know we shouldn't be going back," I said. "We gotta find the others, they must be worried."

Arme sighed as she placed a hand on my hand. "I know, but it's tempting."

"C'mon, let's go." I pulled back and headed towards the entrance, keeping an eye on Arme the whole time in case she tried to touch the wall. Luckily, she followed me out of the Gorgos' Lair.

"It seems like it's been a long time since we were there, hm?" Arme asked. I just nodded.

"Something feels odd though," I said, looking around. Arme said nothing though as we walked and walked until we reached a nearby town.

Arme made a small noise before she asked, "What's with all the soldiers?"

"I'm not s-" I started before a soldier yelled out, "Hey, it's Arme and Lass of Grand Chase! Get them!"

"Wait, wh-" Arme began before I scooped her up into my arms and ran. This time, Arme didn't scream in my ear.

"What's going on?" I asked as I ran as quickly as I could.

"Why you asking me?" Arme cried as she clung tightly to my neck.

After awhile of running, I managed to take a glance back to see the soldiers weren't anywhere in sight. By now, we had ran towards the Gorge of Oath. Here, we could hide as we figured out what was going on.

I ran over to a snug little cave that lay under a rock that jutted out of the rocky wall. We wouldn't be spotted here too easily, and there were some large rocks that hid the entrance of the little cave.

After I set Arme down, I sat down next to her, the entrance of the little cave in my view.

"What do you think happened?" I asked.

"Not sure," Arme answered. "I think our main priority is figuring out where the others are."

"Kanavan castle?" I suggested. It was where we last were when we ran after Legna.

"For some reason, I don't think they're there anymore," Arme said. "I mean, do you remember how the soldier had specified us as members of Grand Chase? They must be after any and all members of Grand Chase for some reason."

"You've got a point there." But where could they be then? "What do you think we should do then?"

"If it were me? I'd get the hell out of Bermesiah."

"Think we can manage that?"

"Yes," Arme answered. "But first, we gotta find a good place to rest, and some food and water. We also need to get out of these clothes or someone will recognize us easily."

"Gotcha. Do you think you'll be fine here by yourself, Arme?"

Arme gave me a soft glare. "Who do you think you're talking to, mister?"

I chuckled. "I'm sorry, oh great Battle Mage of Bermesiah." For good effect, I bowed before Arme, who let out a chuckle.

"Get going Lass, but don't take too long, got it?" Arme pulled out her staff. "I don't have my war staff on me, unfortunately, but I'll make do. Now go, get going!"

"Roger!" I gave Arme a quick salute as I dashed out, making sure no one was there before I ran north.

If I was fast enough, I'd be able to get some information along with food, water and clothes. I will find out what the hell happened while Arme and I were gone.


	25. Chapter 24: Three Views

**Author's Note**: Need a break from writing. _Badly_. So if my writing seems sloppy, that's why. I need a freaking break. 50,000 words is getting to me now.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 24: Three Views**

**

* * *

**The soldiers that were chasing me were faster than I had originally thought. In fact, they had almost caught up to me!

They were yelling at me, shouting at me, cursing at me. . . How did this even happen?

At least I was close to the shore. I could smell the familiar salty tang of the sea and could hear the sound of the waves lapping at the shore. The scent and the sound reminded me of home. Hopefully Jin would make it safely and soundly.

From behind, the shouts seemed to be getting louder so I picked up the pace, getting closer and closer to the shore of the sea. If I was lucky, I'd be able to lose them at the beach; there were actually many places to hide, if I remember. The south beach was cluttered with numerous forests and various debris someone could hide in, not to mention the hidden areas that lay scattered everywhere. . .

What happened?

I couldn't really hear the soldiers any longer. Did they give up? Good! I was getting tired of being chased. . .

For only a second, I turned around to take a look when I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Looking down, I saw the arrow that was imbedded in my chest. They had an archer with them who shot me just as I turned; I could see the archer now, the bow in his hand, and felt only hatred before my vision swam, my head turning light.

I was dying.

I'm sorry, Jin. I'm so sorry.

–

I usually never cut my hair short. Who knows why I liked to keep my hair long, but I just preferred it that way. Plus, Elesis likes how long my hair is, so she'll be sad to know that I cut it short, if I ever see her again. Hopefully, I will, along with the others left.

The cloak I wore was tattered, and offered little warmth to the cold breeze that arrived with the sunset. The chill crept into my body easily and stole most of my warmth. Most of my clothes were old and tattered but it was to keep attention away from myself. Most of my Royal Guard Master clothes would've attracted unwanted attention.

Twice already, I had gained that unwanted attention simply due to my weapons, so I had to hide them somewhere safe and instead rely on a sword I was a tad clumsy with. But then my fighting style gave me away yet a third time, so in the end I stopped fighting, just to prevent anyone from recognizing me.

Currently, I was still trying to figure out what had happened to Kanavan. How did this all happen? I knew it was the King's fault, but he seemed like a good man. . . Was he corrupted or had something corrupted him?

Corruption made me think of Kaze'aze, but the witch was dead. . . I'd seen for my own eyes her slaying, how Arme had cast a spell that would prevent her resurrection, so most likely the King himself was corrupted.

So, was his kindness all a facade? How did we not see any of this though? Was it the fact that we had spent so much time at the castle? Sometimes I had wondered why the King had requested so much help from the entire Grand Chase that remained, and I think I knew why. It was so we couldn't see what had been going on in the entire kingdom.

Then I wondered about Serdin; was the fall of Serdin his doing, too? I know it was treasonous to think this way, but now it was treasonous just to be a part of Grand Chase. In fact, almost anything could be considered treasonous nowadays. . .

I didn't think it possible for monsters to be able to destroy almost all of Serdin. They had to have had help. That made me think of the group of humans Arme had spotted that seemed intent on taking the castle. She said they didn't look like soldiers, but who knew, they could have just been soldiers out of uniform.

There was so much to think about now that I wasn't the Royal Guard Master anymore, or a part of Grand Chase. . .

Then I thought of something else; what was a good way to really disguise myself? It'd be helpful to be able to wander around freely without people knowing who I was.

Where was I now? It looked like I was in a fairly large town with few soldiers in it. The place seemed a touch creepy to me. . .

By now, the sun had fallen completely behind the horizon, but at least there were lights from the buildings.

I decided to head north; it seemed like the north was less populated so maybe I could get a good night's sleep undisturbed.

As I headed north, it seemed to get even more cold than it already was and I pulled the cloak tighter to me, shivering slightly.

Was it me, or did this place seem. . . familiar? I couldn't quite put my finger on it, though, and decided to just ignore the feeling.

Soon I came upon what seemed to be a hut. There was a sign in front of the hut.

_Shaman's hut_

_Numerous spells, potions_

_and charms for many_

_occassions._

_Free fortune readings._

Free fortune readings?

Normally I didn't believe in the fortune telling stuff, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it? I mean, it was free. . .

Taking my chances I decided I'd get a free fortune reading, hoping for the best, and I knocked on the door.

–

It's so hot. . . How long has it been since it was ever cool again? Why's it got to be this hot? It's like I'm on fire, literally on fire.

I'm burning, I'm melting, I'm dying.

Am I already dead? I keep asking myself this but I can't remember, can't remember at all. Am I just asleep? Is this just some too-real dream? More like a nightmare.

All I can remember are the flames that threatened to consume, and now here they are, consuming me, trying to take me, but I can't. I can't let them take me.

What is that voice? When was the last time I heard a voice?

"Hey, do you want a little help?" the voice said.

Could I talk? How could I talk?

"I see now, you've been burning here for quite some time now, haven't ya?" the voice said. "I can free the both of you on one condition."

I want to say something, anything, but how?

"I can free you both, but one of you must remain with me at all times, just as a helper, an assistant. Being here without anyone to help me is a big pain, y'know?"

Were there two of us? Who was the other? There was me and. . . someone else. I could feel them nearby, but I couldn't say anything, couldn't interact with them.

I felt the desire to be free of these flames, to be away from this agonizing heat.

"I see the two of you agree. Gimme a second."

I wanted to speak again, to use words once more.

I wanted to scream. What was this pain? The flames were hotter than ever. It was like I was on fire, both inside and out and it wanted to kill me, to erase me, to burn every part of me until there was nothing left.

And then the heat disappeared. The flames were gone, and I felt such a relief I'd never felt before enter me.

"Okay, there we go," the voice said. "Oh, I think seeing the two of you before down here once! Lire and Ryan, right?"

Lire? Ryan? Those words sounded familiar. . .

Lire. . . Ryan. . .

Who was I? I was. . . was. . . Lire. Ryan. Lire.

I remember, I remember.

I died. I died. Ryan died.

We were dead, the two of us, dead.

But are we ghosts now? Is that what happened to us?

"You two look confused." A Lich. . . A Lich. . . Yet he bore no look of malice, no evil intents. In fact, he was the one who saved us from the fire, the heat, the pain. . .

"Allow me to explain. . ."

–

The terrible stench of blood filled my nose. I wondered who or what had died recently. The night made things worse, as I couldn't see much.

The sound of lapping water against the sand filled my ears, and I knew I was at the southern coast of Bermesiah, but the smell. . . That smell of blood kept getting stronger.

Deciding not to ignore it, I went off in search of the source. I didn't have to go that far off my path since it seemed to get stronger and stronger.

And then I felt something wet against my foot, yet I wasn't close enough for the waves to touch yet. Did I find it? Did I. . .

Amy.

S-She lay. . . She lay on the sand, her normally-bright eyes now dulled as she stared up, motionless on the sand. The stench of the blood was strongest here, and I could tell she had been killed recently. . . And by an archer, no less.

The wooden shaft of the arrow stuck straight out of her heart, but the blood hadn't come from that wound; the blood came from the gash in her neck. Whoever had killed her had slit her throat, probably when she didn't die from the arrow. . . How could they do this to her?

I wanted to cry, to do nothing but cry for my lost love, but I couldn't stay here for long, unless someone hostile came by.

Kneeling down, I scooped Amy up into my arms, being careful not to let her drag as I carried her back the way I came into the bit of woodland that I had came out of.

I walked a good distance away until I came upon an area semi-covered with flora. Before I started to dig, I made sure to set Amy down gently, hidden by some bushes.

The digging was long and hard, as I had nothing buy my bare hands to work with. When I was done digging, I was covered in dirt and sweat and was tired.

Then I went to pick Amy up and set her down gently in the grave I dug for her.

"Goodbye, Amy, oracle of the Silver Knights, the light of my life, the dancer of the stars," I whispered. And then I proceeded to place the dirt over her body while trying my best not to look at her still form.

When I was done, I picked up a rock and placed it upon the mound of dirt that was now Amy's grave.

With another rock, I scratched out some letters onto the trunk of the tree the dancer rested under.

_Amy lies_

_here_

_Dancer_

_Oracle_

_Loved_


	26. Chapter 25: Calling All Spirits

**Author's Note**: Cookie for those who knows where I got the inspiration for the title from.

* * *

Divided Realms

**Chapter 25: Calling All Spirits**

**

* * *

**The night was cold, and my clothes were a bit tattered due to the volcano. I really wished we could have stayed, but what replaced that desire to go back was the desire to find out what happened to my friends. I bet they would know what had happened.

My breath came out in white wisps and I shivered slightly, so I decided to risk lighting a fire, just a small one.

The effect was immediate and the little cave I was staying in while I waited for Lass filled with a lovely warmth. Soon enough, my shivering subsided and I could sit comfortably. However, I decided I wouldn't sleep, tired as I was. In case of an ambush, I would be ready. No way in hell would anyone catch me unawares! Except maybe Lass, he usually could.

How could only a few hours change into all this? What did the Grand Chase do to cause them to become hunted like animals? I could only sigh in frustration and bang my staff against the stone wall.

When would Lass be back? No one ever said I was a very patient person. Sometimes I would be patient when it comes to perfecting my spells since spells require the utmost of care or else things can go wrong very quickly.

And on the topic of things gone wrong. . . How could Lire and Ryan have died in that fire? They would've been able to escape, but then I remembered why; monsters had them trapped. The monsters seemed to have sacrificed themselves just so Lire and Ryan would die in that fire.

Monsters. . . They're the reason why this all happened. They destroyed Serdin, they killed the Queen of Serdin, they killed Ryan, they killed Lire. . . A plan clicked into place.

I vowed I'd have a little fun with monsters, as a sort of revenge for all they've done to us. They'll help me in my experiments, and they will suffer.

"Lass, hurry up already, will ya?" I muttered as I stared at the fire, eyes half-closed. He was taking awhile, or was time just passing slowly?

I realized I had fallen asleep when I heard a low rasping sound that woke me up.

"Who's there?" I said, a bit groggy. Luckily my staff was still in my hands so I could attack if needed.

"Answer me or taste a Firestorm!" Wait, bad idea, I was stuck in here myself. "I mean a Shock Stun!"

"A-Arme, it's just me, Lass!" I heard a frightened voice say. Oh, Lass.

"Sorry, you woke me up," I said, and moved the fire, allowing Lass to crawl in with a covered bundle.

"You realize I could see that fire like, a mile away?" Lass asked as he set the bundle down.

"I could have defended myself if I needed to, y'know," I told him.

"You're trapped, Arme," Lass said. "They have spears, they can refresh themselves with supplies, and unless you had outside help and communication, you could very well have been killed."

I just groaned a bit, realizing that Lass was right.

"Sorry," I grumbled before Lass pulled me into a tight hug.

"'s okay, no one saw you but me, I think," Lass murmured into my ear. "And you look quite tired. How about you eat a bit, get changed, and take a good rest while I stand guard?"

"No, no, I'll stand guard, you didn't get to sleep," I said. Most likely he ate while traveling.

"Only for an hour then." Lass sighed. "Eat first, though, and get changed. I got some new clothes for us we can wear."

Now was a good time to take a look at what Lass brought back.

"Did you steal these?" I asked as I pulled open the bundle.

"Obviously." Lass smirked a bit. "Small price to pay now that our lives are already wanted."

I said nothing about the time that Lass's thieving habits nearly forced him to exile himself from Grand Chase and that I'd almost lost him for good. But I suppose he had a good point.

What Lass brought back was food, which included some dried meat, some fruits, and some cheese, some dark-colored tattered-looking clothes that actually looked pretty warm, my war staff, wherever Lass found it, and a pretty worn book.

"What's this?" I asked, picking up the book and flipping it open to a random page.

"It's. . . a book on communicating with spirits," Lass answered. "I thought. . ." I knew what he thought.

"Thanks, Lass," I said. "Can you. . . Can you keep watch?" I looked up at him pleadingly.

"O-Of course, I wanted to anyway." Lass pulled me close to him as he kissed me gently on the cheek before he exited the little cave.

Picking up an apple, I took a look at the table of contents and found the section on summoning a spirit. It only required a bit of mana and a chanting of a spell. However, I needed to restore a bit of energy before I would attempt this spell, so I ate a bit more until I was comfortably full.

Then I began to concentrate my mana into an area in front of me as I recited the spell that was in the book, my eyes half-closed. However, I messed up a word or two and had to start over again, frustrated.

It took me a few tries before I finally got the spell right. Only problem was, nothing happened. I had checked the book three times and I was sure I got it right, so what happened?

"This book must be a fake," I muttered as I prepared to throw it into the fire before I heard something faint. It sounded like my name. . .

"Who's there?" I called. "Lass, you better not be playing a trick on me."

"Not. . . Lass. . ." I heard.

"Who are you?" I demanded. "Are you a spirit?"

". . . re. . ." was all I heard.

I checked the book again. What had appeared to be an "a" was actually an "e" and I growled in frustration.

Concentrating once more, I recited the spell once more.

"Did it work?" I asked.

"Well, can you hear me now?" I heard.

"Yes!" I cried, looking around. That voice. . . I recognized it! "Lire, where are you?"

Seeing Lire just come out of a rock wall made me yelp. "Don't do that!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't help it," Lire said. "I mean, being able to go through things is kinda fun, y'know?"

"B-But. . ." I hesitated. "Is it really you, Lire? I mean, your spirit?"

"It is Arme, and I've missed you guys so much!" Lire cried as she hovered in front of me.

"W-Where's Ryan?" I asked, looking around. "Is he planning to spook me?"

Lire shook her head. It was a bit unsettling to be able to see right through her. "He's back with the Lich."

"Lich?" I said, alarmed. "What's he doing with a Lich?"

"Y'see, he kind of freed our souls so we wouldn't burn forever," Lire explained. "Thing is, he requires one of us to be with him as a helper while the other one can roam around. I'm planning on going back soon, now that I've found you. That spell really helped."

"How are you certain you can trust this Lich?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry," Lire said. "Ryan and I have been trading off for a few hours at a time, and the Lich is very kind. But, I suppose you wouldn't know it until you've actually met him and all. Not all Liches are mean, y'know."

"I suppose I will have to meet this Lich someday." If Lire was still here, and if Ryan would come searching for me soon, then I guess she was right.

"Arme, I'm gonna go now, 'kay?" Lire looked at me sadly. "Don't worry. Now that you can see me, you'll be able to see Ryan too, and we can chat with you freely. It's kinda lonely being dead, y'know?"

I just nodded.

"But, can anyone else see you?" I asked.

"Only if they activate that spell," Lire answered. "The Lich said he'd try to get that book to you, and it seems Lass managed to bring it back for you."

"Y-Yeah. . ." So I guess it wasn't just a coincidence or anything that I had gotten this book.

"Bye Arme." Lire waved to me, smiling. "I'm so glad to be able to see you again."

"B-Bye, Lire." I waved back as Lire disappeared into the rocky wall.

So I could communicate with spirits now, thanks to this Lich, eh? Hopefully he was as kind as Lire had said, and I wouldn't have to owe him my soul or anything.

Now I just had to wait for Ryan.

Where was he?

I was thinking that he seemed to be taking forever when I heard a loud "Boo!" from behind me.

"Ryan, that didn't scare me," I said as I turned around to see the orange-haired elf.

"Aw. Not even a little?" Ryan asked, his ears drooping a bit.

"Nope." I crossed my arms. "But. . . I'm glad to see you, Ryan, even if you are. . ."

"Dead," Ryan finished for me. "You can say it. It was a bit of a shock at first, but I guess I kinda got used to it. Y'know, that Lich really isn't bad at all."

"Yeah, Lire told me." I couldn't help but stare at Ryan.

"What's happened?" Ryan asked.

"Not sure," I answered truthfully. "I really don't know, and I think Lass forgot to tell me."

Ryan peeked over my shoulder as he said, "Tell Lassy-boy 'Hi' for me, will ya?"

"Sure," I said. "Say, did you. . . Did you see anyone else?"

Ryan shook his head, and I wasn't sure what to feel.

"Well, if you mean if I saw anyone else in hell or anything, no," Ryan answered. "I did see Sieghart though, and. . . Uh. . ."

"What?" I asked. "What happened to Sieghart?"

"He's in jail," Ryan answered.

I just stared at Ryan, so he went on to explain.

"I saw what happened," Ryan said. "He was just. . . sleeping when the soldiers found him." Figures. "The soldiers must have remembered that Sieghart was immortal or something, so they carried him off. I followed to see where they took him and the whole time, Sieghart just slept through it all! I mean, is he a rock or something? Anyway, they threw him in a jail cell and then left him there.

"When he woke up an hour later, seemed confused when a bunch of people yelled at him to let them all free," Ryan continued. "Guess what Sieghart did?"

"What?" I asked, knowing what was next; I was just humoring Ryan at this point.

"He just said 'Eh, do it yourself' and went right back to sleep! Lazy asshole!" Ryan laughed though. "It was kinda funny though. Even the legendary Sieghart's too lazy to break out of prison where it can't be all that comfortable to sleep in, eh?"

"Er, no, I guess not," I said. Well, one less person to worry about. "But, have you seen the others?"

"Um, Lire saw Elesis with a group of odd people," Ryan answered. "She wouldn't really say who they were though, except that one of them was probably Elesis's brother, Elsword."

"So she found her long-lost brother. That's nice," I said. "I'm really happy for her." I had no family to speak of, really, but I knew that finding someone lost that you really love is one of the best things that could happen to you.

"I'm not sure about Ronan, Jin, or Amy," Ryan said, "but I think they're all okay."

I just nodded.

"And I saw Lass outside. Too bad I can't say anything to him." Ryan glanced past my shoulder again.

"Maybe there's a spell I could use on him that would let him see and speak to spirits," I said, looking at the book.

"Well, you could try," Ryan said doubtfully. "I'll ask the Lich about it."

"So this Lich. . ." I said. "Will he demand anything in exchange for this book?"

"Oh, yeah, and he wanted me to tell you 'cause Lire forgot to," Ryan said. Great.

"What's he want, my soul when I die?" I asked.

Ryan shook his head, surprisingly. "The other Lich would, but all this guy wants is for you or anyone else to get rid of the soldiers that have completely blocked the entrance to the Hell Bridge."

"The Hell Bridge has been blocked?" I asked. "Why?"

"You see, the King of Kanavan seems to know you can revive the dead if you go into hell through the Hell Bridge and he doesn't want that to happen," Ryan explained. "He's after the entity of Grand Chase and he wants no one to revive us, as we're the only threat to him."

"Bastard," I hissed. "How does he even know about that?"

"Someone may have told him," Ryan said. "I really don't know, and the Lich doesn't know either. Either way, unless you're a spirit like Lire and I, no one can get in or out without notice, and the place is heavily guarded. I once saw someone try and get in and they couldn't even get that close before they got killed."

"Hm." I started to think about what we could do. "We" being Lass and I. I wasn't sure if I could rely on the remaining members at the moment. "Maybe we'll start at the head of the problem and work our way down."

"Don't." Ryan moved his face closer to me. "The King's just as well-guarded as the entrance to Hell Bridge, if not more so."

"We'll find a way," I said. "We'll find a way. And Ryan?"

"Yeah Arme?" Ryan looked at me questioningly.

"Do some scouting for me, will ya?"

"Say please."

I glared at Ryan, who looked at me smugly. "Fine. Please do some scouting for me and I won't have to find a way to screw with your spirit."

Ryan gulped, as he knew that if there was a way, I'd find it.

"O-Okay, bye Arme!" Ryan immediately fled, leaving me alone now.

Then I wondered; why didn't Lass hear any of this and run in? That got me worried so I poked my head out.

Lass was nowhere in sight.


	27. Chapter 26: A Message

**Author's Note**: Gonna do stuff with this story until after November ends so I can take the time to plot things out more carefully. Until then, don't expect to see anything related to Dynas until after November ends.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 26: A Message**

**

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**Despite the cold, I was comfortable up here. I mean, the view was nice, and the rocks protected me from the wind, for the most part. The food, though meager, was still good.

I wondered how Arme was fairing with the book I found. It was strange, I just ended up finding it in the clothes that I took. Wonder who put it there? Oh well, not gonna wonder about the luck of finding a book that could possible let us see Lire and Ryan again. . .

I missed them, even if Ryan did get on my nerves sometimes.

Then I thought I heard something, so I tried listening real hard to see if I could catch again.

"Lass?" I heard. It sounded like Arme, and she sounded a bit frightened, so I jumped down quickly, nodachi drawn.

There was a loud scream followed by a sharp pain to my foot and I yelled out.

"Lass! You scared me, asshole!" That voice, it belonged to Arme!

"A-Arme?" I turned around and knelt down to see an angry, shaking Arme.

"Where the hell were you?" she demanded. "And why the hell did you scare me like that?"

I pointed up as I explained. "I was just chilling on some rocks up there, keeping watch! And I thought you were in danger, so I came down in case! And did you have to hit me?" My foot felt sore now; Arme probably used the war staff I got for her, and damn, that hurt.

"Sorry, but I just got frightened when I didn't see you." Arme crawled over to me and held on to me tightly.

"No, I'm sorry," I said. "I should have told you I was gonna go up higher. I didn't mean to frighten you." Arme was shaking a bit, whether from fear, shock or cold, I didn't know.

"I spoke to Lire and Ryan," Arme said suddenly, surprising me.

"You. . . what?"

"You heard me." Arme looked up at me, her amethyst eyes staring right into mine. "I spoke to them, thanks to the book you brought me. And if I can find the right spell, you can see and speak to them as well."

Well that was. . . amazing. So amazing, I couldn't say anything.

"Lass." Arme's voice prompted me to speak.

"Y-Yes, Arme?" I gulped, sort of nervous.

"We need to get out of Bermesiah."

I just stared at Arme, who's eyes didn't waver from mine.

"You heard me," she said. "It's not safe in Bermesiah anymore, and at least in Ellia, we have the protection of the Silver Cross Assassins, right?"

"Y-Yes, of course, they're still loyal to me," I answered.

Just then, I heard the familiar screech of a familiar bird.

"It's Fenix!" Arme cried, looking up.

Fenix was the name of the Sidtri Arme and I trained together. Sure, that stupid Sidtri had hated me at first, and I hated its guts too, but Arme had somehow made it worked together.

I couldn't believe that such an ugly Sidt could grow up into a beautiful Sidtri, though. Maybe that was all Arme's doing. Hell, she even made the Sidtri and I kind of like each other. Well, more like respect each other, but still.

Fenix let out the three familiar tones that asked if it was safe to land. Arme responded with two low whistles followed by a high whistle. She paused before giving the fourth whistle that went from high to low to high again, signaling it was safe to land.

Arme held out her arm as Fenix landed gently on her hand. Pulling Fenix close, Arme gently pat the Sidtri before letting me untie the note that was attached to its leg.

"So who's it from?" I asked, unrolling the parchment. The paper was a bit worn, and smelled a bit like salt, so I imagined it came from overseas.

Attached to the message was a bit of black dust with a bit of a purple tint; Ellian dust, so the note came from Ellia. One more thing to check.

"Arme, fire please." I held the paper out, and Arme gave me the fire needed to burn the entire paper.

To anyone who would've seen the paper, they would've found it blank, just like I was seeing it now. However, the Silver Cross Assassins are always secretive and careful. We made it a habit to write in code and to hide our messages ever since I took over as the leader. This paper was one way of hiding messages.

Arme used her magic to hold the paper in place as it burned and turned black. After a minute had passed, the fire was gone and all that was left was a piece of parchment burnt black.

"Perfect," I said and I shook the paper a bit, causing some of the black to crumble.

However, instead of completely crumbling, just the black crumbled away to leave a perfectly untouched piece of paper with writing on it. I loved this tactic; most people would just throw the paper away, thinking it useless. But, those that did set it on fire would either burn it completely or they wouldn't be able to read the writing.

"From the Silver Cross Assassins, Lass?" Arme asked, peering at the note. I nodded.

"What do they want?"

"Lemme find out."

Let's see, that was an a, here's a pair of s's. . .

I showed Arme the note after I read it through first.

_Come back to Ellia, and bring the head of the Violet Mage Guild. Bermesiah isn't safe, but Ellia isn't either. However, it's safer here than in Bermesiah._

_~Tiya, Dark Assassin, fifth day of the month_

"Lass. . ." Arme said, the worry in her voice clear.

Today was the fifteenth day of the month.

So the Silver Cross Assassins knew about the dangers for that long, huh. . . But why was Fenix delayed for so long? Fenix always came to us as quickly as he could, unless. . .

"Someone must have tried to catch Fenix," I said, voicing my thoughts.

"That's what probably happened," Arme said in agreement. "Fenix is the fastest messenger bird we have. I bet someone knew about him and tried to stop his message. . ."

Fenix squawked in agreement.

It's a shame Fenix couldn't talk to us, or else he'd be able to tell us who had tried to stop him.

"So Lass, I guess we head to Ellia?" Arme asked.

We had to.

If the message came so late, then the Silver Cross Assassins might assume me for dead, or even taken as hostages. Though, I didn't really have much to worry about, but still. . .

"Mhm," I answered. "But tomorrow, 'kay?"

Arme nodded, so she crawled back into the little cave with Fenix while I just planted myself in front of the entrance. Maybe I'd take a quick nap. . .

I awoke to someone poking me in the back.

"Huh?" I was half awake now and I wondered where the poking came from and how a rock was poking me repeatedly.

Then I heard "Lass, move!" and I realized that it was Arme who was poking me, so I moved out of the way quickly.

"Sorry!" I cried.

"I was wondering why it was so dark," Arme grumbled as she crawled out of the little cave with a bundled up package; probably the book and food we didn't eat.

"Ready to go, Arme?" I asked.

Arme nodded, so the two of us, along with the Sidtri that was still asleep in Arme's arms, headed off towards the east where the continent of Ellia and my hometown were.

Of course, there was the sea we had to cross. . .

If we got lucky, maybe we could find a boat the three of us could sneak onto.

"So, how are we gonna cross the sea?" Arme asked.

"We can sneak onto a boat," I answered, and bit into an apple.

"What if there's none?"

"Then we'll think of something."

Arme didn't seem convinced, but she didn't speak about it again as we walked in silence. After awhile, Fenix woke up, letting out a small squawk of confusion.

"We're going to Ellia, Fenix," Arme said as she nuzzled the Sidtri. "Think you can fly ahead with a message for us to the Silver Cross Assassins safely?"

Fenix nodded eagerly, seemingly wanting to not be so late this time.

"Lass." Arme glanced at me expectantly, so I took out a piece of charred paper I had. The best I could do was write in code.

_Lass and Arme will be arriving in Ellia. When is currently unknown. Be on the lookout._

With a bit of torn cloth, I tied the note tightly to Fenix's leg, who chirped once before taking off. He circled twice above us before he flew higher into the sky and east, soon disappearing from view.

"Think he'll be all right, Lass?" Arme asked me.

"If he can survive me trying to cook him for dinner, he'll survive anything," I answered, earning a chuckle from Arme.

The two of us walked on, occasionally hiding in the bushes whenever soldiers were around. This took us a lot of time getting to the east Bermesiah coast, but it would save us a ton of trouble.

Luckily for us, the docks were still up, with plenty of boats running. Unfortunately for us, there were numerous soldiers here. How many soldiers did the King employ?

"Uh. . ." Arme said.

"Stay here," I ordered before I sneaked out, being extremely careful not to be spotted.

After a bit of wandering around without being spotted, I learned two important things; one was that three of the boats were leaving in about five minutes. The other was that no more ships were going to leave or arrive after that, which I found odd.

"Now what?" Arme asked me when I came back.

"We sneak on very carefully," I said, and then I picked Arme up. This time, she didn't let out a sound.

"Are you crazy?" she asked.

"No. I know just how to do this," I told Arme.

"And if it fails?"

"Run like hell."

I had enough energy to maintain an invisible state for one minute, but with Arme it would last thirty seconds.

Quickly and silently, I walked quickly out of the bushes towards one of the three boats leaving. Maintaining the speed I had, it took me only six seconds to reach the boat, only to find out it was heading to Silver Land.

Not making a sound, I quickly went to the next boat, which took me seven seconds, which was going to Ellia. Good.

Seventeen seconds remained as I quickly searched for a way on, and then I noticed the ramp. Currently, no one was on it so as quickly and silently as possible, I leaped over and onto the ramp and boarded the boat.

Made it.

I felt a tugging on my hair as Arme pulled on my hair, and I looked at her questioningly.

She pointed to the edge of her cloak, which was caught on the wooden frame, so I pulled it free before heading towards an open door.

The door lead to the stockroom, luckily, so we could hide here until the boat made it to Ellia.

"Lass," Arme whispered.

"Hm?" I set Arme down.

"Your. . . Your invisibility wore off right before we entered," Arme told me, and I felt the panic rise up. Crap, did someone spot us?

"Hide, Arme," I whispered as I quickly searched for a place to hide.

The best place I found was underneath a heavy sheet that smelled slightly of oil, and Arme ended up hiding underneath it as well.

Now all we could do was wait and hope we weren't spotted.


	28. Chapter 27: The Shaman

**Author's Note**: Whoo I'm done with NaNoWriMo~! Which means my updates will now proceed to slow down, perhaps drastically, eh heh.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 27: The Shaman**

**

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**The place had some sort of sweet-and-bitter smell to it, as if someone was burning flowers or something. The fact that it was too dark to see made it feel worse somehow. True, it wasn't dark enough so I couldn't see _anything_, but it was dark enough so that my vision was limited to a foot or two.

"Welcome to my hut," a voice whispered. "What isssss it that you desssssire?" Weird. . .

"Um, the sign out front said you offered free readings?" I answered.

"Ah, yessssss, I do," the shaman answered. I. . . wanted to ask about her weird, um, way of talking, but I didn't want to be rude.

This was a female, right?

"Come clossssser, dear," the shaman beckoned.

In the hut, which seemed larger than it looked. I could see a shaft of light off to my right. The light illuminated a small, round table that had a pale lavender cloth on top. The cloth covered the entire table and reached the floor of the hut. On the table was what appeared to be an orb made of some milky glass, which rested on a small pedestal.

Warily, I approached the table. Was the shaman hidden somewhere?

Was that a hiss of surprise I heard? It sounded almost. . . reptilian. . . Okay, I was starting to regret this, slightly.

"You are. . . Ronan Erudon, are you not?" the shaman asked, surprising me.

"Y-Yes, how did you know?" I asked.

"I have ssssseen you before, when one of your friendsssss once visssssited me," she answered.

Didn't Arme or Lass say they once visited a shaman? Maybe it was this one. . .

"S-So how much do you know?" I asked.

"You were the Royal Guard Master of Kanavan before its corruption," the shaman said. "You were a part of the Grand Chase before its disbandment, which was headed by the red female you are engaged to named Elesis. You have been mistaken for a female more than ten times in your life."

Yeah, she knew quite a lot more than I wanted her to. . .

"Well, th-that's all fine and dandy," I said, "but I think I wanna hear my fortune now, please?"

"Of course." I thought I heard her chuckle. . .

What seemed to unnerve me the most were her hands as she placed them on the glass orb.

They seemed like normal human hands, maybe a bit thinner, but they were covered in green. . . scales. There were a couple bead necklaces and cloth that were wrapped around her hands, which apparently were usually covered by a long, thick shawl. She had fingernails that seemed a lot like sharp little claws.

"Sssssscared?" the shaman asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.

I gulped, nervous, and shook my head, wondering if she could see.

"Allow me to sssssssee into your future," the shaman told me, and the glass began to glow a bit white.

The light was enough to allow me to see that the shaman was covered from head to toe in a thick, pale blue shawl, the same one that had hid her hands. Her eyes seemed to be yellow, with slits for pupils. Surrounding what little I could see around her eyes her more scales. Was she. . . a humanoid snake? Or maybe she was a serpentine human. . . I couldn't tell.

The yellow disappeared as the shaman closed her eyes, concentrating. The crystal orb grew even more, allowing me to look around the place.

There were numerous shelves and tables that were covered with various types of items. I now noticed the sticks that were in some jars that burned, which was probably what gave off that smell that hung in the air. There seemed to be various different types of flower petals scattered everywhere for some reason. Some beaded necklaces hung from the tables, on unlit and unburnt candles, on mirrors, and even on chairs.

"Eyesssssss on the cryssssssstal, young man," the shaman hissed, and my eyes immediately went back to the glowing orb.

"Y-Yes ma'am," I said nervously.

"What do you ssssssee?" she asked of me, and I peered closer. Just some kind of foggy mist.

"Nothing, really," I answered.

"That differssssss only slightly from what I can ssssssee," the shaman told me. "There are currently two futuresssssss, each of which issssss decccccided bassssssed on your own choicesssss.

"The firsssst isssss your death, which will arrive with the morrow." W-What? "The sssssecond issss very foggy, assssss if you have losssst your memoriessssss, but you are ssssssafe and alive."

"A-And you're saying I could choose my future of these two choices?" I asked. I didn't really like the sound of either choices, but I suppose losing your memory would be a bit better, I suppose. At least you could regain your memories, as long as someone didn't actually steal them from you. . .

"Hmmm. . ."

"W-What?"

"It isssss. . . nothing," she said.

"Can you see how I die?" I asked, nervous about the coming of the next day.

"I can ssssee. . . A quessssstion you are assssked and the anssssswer you give isssss how you will die," the shaman answered.

"Huh?"

"Never you mind, you jusssssst need to make a choiccccce."

"W-What kinda choice?" I asked. "If I wanna die or lose my memory?"

"Yesssss. I have a mixture that ssssshall erassssse your memoriesssss until someone sayssssss a certain word to you," was the answer. "Whatever hapensssss after isssss unknown, but at leasssssst you will live."

"I. . ." I thought for a second. "How does the word thing work?"

"Think of a word assssss you drink the the liquid," the shaman answered, "and the next persssssson to sssssay it will caussssse your memoriessssss to come back."

That meant I couldn't choose something too easy, or my memory would come back unexpectedly at a bad time. On the other hand, if I chose a word no one really used, I'd lose my memories forever. . . But what word could I use?

I know.

"Okay, I'll. . ." I hesitated. "I'll. . . lose my memories."

I remembered a promise I had once made to Elesis. That was to stay alive for as long as I could. She'd promised she would as well. I'd made that promise after a time I had died and got brought back to life. So technically, the promise was to not die again and to stay alive as long as I could.

"Give me a moment, Ronan Erudon," the shaman said.

The glass orb's light faded away until the room was nearly dark again, save for the shaft of light on the table.

I heard the rustle of cloth as the shaman probably got up and went somewhere.

Moments later, she was back, standing in the shaft of light. Her shawl made it hard to figure out what she looked like.

In one scaly hand, she held out a vial of some vile-looking, orange-colored liquid to me.

"Drink thissssss asssss you think of the word," the shaman hissed.

"C-Can I get you to promise me one thing?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't get killed by this.

"Yesssss?"

"Can you. . . promise to make sure I don't do. . . um. . ." I hesitated, trying to word it right, but I hadn't needed to.

"You will be in my care until thisssss isssss all over, and until then, no one will lay a hand on you unlessssss they wisssssh to feel my wrath." The shaman let out a small hiss then, causing me to jump a bit.

Well, if this turned out well, I could see Elesis and the others again. . . If not, then. . .

I tried not to think about that.

Instead, I thought of the word over and over again as I drank the surprisingly sweet liquid.

_Essie_.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I. . . tried to think of a word that only Elesis may use. I'm sure it's obvious what the word means to Ronan.


	29. Chapter 28: Ride to Ellia

**Author's Note**: Screw you, Open Office.

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Divided Realms

**Chapter 28: Ride to Ellia**

**

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**It was a good thing Lass or I don't get seasick easily, or we'd have been found. We actually made it to Ellia without too much trouble, but I'm getting ahead of myself. I should explain our journey on the boat, which took at least a few days or so.

It had seemed that no one did not notice us because by the time Lass had decided to help me up out from underneath the tarp, it was a few hours past. By then, the boat had started, going onto its journey towards Ellia where Lass lived and the Silver Cross Assassins had beckoned us to come to.

The ones on the boat made so much noise, I swore it was like being on a boat with no walls! I heard lots of things I had not really wanted to hear but heard anyway. There was a bit of interesting information to be had, however.

One was that the King of Kanavan was willing to pay plenty to keep the boats coming to Bermesiah to trade. Without the trade, the kingdom itself would slowly die away due to lack of certain resources, and the civilians may even throw a rebellion. Though, I did wonder why there was no rebellion sooner. Were people scared? Were the soldiers too intimidating? Either way, this was something Lass and I could start. . .

Something else people talked about was the exile and the death sentence to Grand Chase. Lass made no mention of this when he came back. It turned out the King put a death sentence on the entity of Grand Chase. No one was entirely sure why, but one interesting thing I heard was that it was because the Grand Chase had pledged their allegiance to the gods of Xenia. That was really interesting, because Grand Chase pledges themselves to no one, actually.

"What do you think happened?" I had asked Lass.

"Not sure," he answered. "I think Elesis, Ronan, Jin, Sieghart and Amy must have went to Xenia because of a problem or something, and when they came back. . . who knows what rumors got spread, and now. . ."

This was weird. . . Really weird.

Currently, our hope lay with being able to get to the Silver Cross Assassins so as to be able to think of a plan in safety.

Due to my current relationship with Lass, I was considered a guest of honor to the group. Well, assassin of honor, but that was not a title that I'm that comfortable with.

The ride was turning kind of bumpy. I held onto Lass for a bit of support, in the case a large wave threatened to knock us all over.

"This is not gonna be fun," I had muttered.

"We'll make the most of it," Lass told me. "And as for food, we'll take as little as we need to live so that way, the missing food goes unnoticed."

That was not something I was going to look forward to, but at least the two of us would get to eat.

"You take the food for me, okay?" I said as I sat down on the rough floor. Lass would be able to figure out how much the two of us would have to eat in order to live. I wouldn't be able to trust myself to take only enough needed.

At least neither of us were hungry, and at least Fenix was off towards Ellia. Hopefully he made it there safely; I would be very sad if he got killed. . .

"Lass," I whispered, having a thought just then.

"Hm?" Lass had sat down next to me and pulled me close.

"Do you think that. . . there are phoenixes there?" I asked. I had meant the ones I had read in books. The books described true phoenixes as birds that were on fire and when they died, they would rise back up to life from their own ashes. Sidtris and Sidts are said to be distant descendents of those types of phoenixes.

Lass had not needed to ask about where I was talking about. "There may be. I mean, we only saw a small part of that place, you know."

"What other kinds of creatures do you think there are?" I had started to daydream a bit, imagining all sorts of creatures that could have inhabited that world.

Were there orcs there? What other types of dragons were there? Did they have any other types of mythical creatures there? There was so much to wonder, so much to learn. . . I just wished Lass and I could have stayed there longer. . .

Then I realized something; how much of our world had we explored? A lot? A little? Was there eve more to be discovered? I wondered what kind of creatures still lurked out there in this world of ours.

I had realized later that I had somehow fallen asleep during my thinking. I guess that sometimes, I thought too much and sometimes I would unconsciously use my mana to help me conjure up life-like images into my mind.

In my mind, I had seen birds that were on fire, their bodies burning so brightly with bright yellows and reds and oranges that would fly like the fire was nothing. I had seen dragons the likes of which I had not seen before, not even when Lass and I had taken that short trip to the other planet. I had seen creatures I could give no name for even.

Then I had realized I was hungry.

"Uh, Lass?" I had turned to look at him when I noticed he had gone. Where had he gone?

"Here," he had whispered back before coming over to me with a bit of food.

Lass had given me a couple fruits and some ham, which tasted good, oddly enough. Meanwhile, Lass had the same things as I did.

"Is there any water we could drink?" I asked as I ate.

"I think," Lass said as he got up again, but I stopped him.

"You don't have to look now, I'm not thirsty."

"It's a good idea to find some now so we know where we can get a drink."

"I guess."

So Lass had searched around the storage room. He found a good supply of water, which was apparently for when the main supply ran out, so we decided to be very sparse with the water.

When he finished checking, Lass said, "I just want to say that a few times, people have come in here," which alarmed me.

"Did we get spotted?" I had asked, a bit nervous.

"If we did, would we still be here?" Lass had smiled a devious smile.

"What did. . ." I didn't want to finish.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone, or hurt them badly," Lass told me.

"Still. . ." I made sure to sleep a bit less. I didn't need that much sleep anyway.

When the night came, Lass took me out, against my will. I didn't want us to get spotted.

"It's okay," Lass said. "I did a bit of scouting and we can be careful." So despite what I did, Lass took the two of us out into the night.

The moon was out, which caused the sea to glisten in the light. It looked. . . pretty lovely to look at. Luckily there was no one around.

"Beautiful," I murmured as I held onto Lass tightly, nuzzling his cheek.

"Like you?" Lass whispered to me. I could feel the slight tension in his body that showed that he was paying attention to his surroundings.

"No, like you," I said, giggling softly.

I had wanted to just stay there with Lass and watch the waves as we sailed past.

"We should sleep, get our rest and all," Lass said, breaking the moment.

I sighed softly before I said, "Okay. . . But you make sure to get some rest too."

"I'm a light sleeper, so don't worry about a thing, 'kay?" Lass took the two of us back into the storage room and he laid me underneath the smelly tarp. Well, at least I was sort of used to the smell, at least.

At one point, I woke up to find Lass pressed tightly against me, causing me to let out a squeak. What was he doing?

Lass had put a finger to his lips, warning me to be silent as his other hand was on the tarp. I noticed a dagger in his hand, and then I heard the voices.

"Y'sure they's here?" a voice said.

"Dunno, worth a shot, there's no other place t'look," another voice said.

"But we checked in 'ere a'eady."

"Check again!"

There was the sound of barrels and crates being moved and turned over, along with the sounds of items being dragged around.

Footsteps kept getting closer and closer to where we were. I was sure they'd spot us.

And then the tarp was pulled away, and I wanted to run or to fight, either one.

Then the tarp was thrown back, oddly enough.

"Nothin' 'ere, cap'," the first voice said.

"Sure?"

"Checked. Nothin'. Y'saw."

"Wonder where they are?"

"Dunno."

The sounds of footstep faded away, and then ended with a door closing, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

I mouthed Lass's name, wondering what had happened.

"Invisibility," Lass whispered softly as he played with a strand of my hair. When did he turn us invisible?

Either way, after that, things went on smoothly from there, and in a few days, the boat rocked roughly once before stopping.

Oh, there was one thing. . .

"Are we there?" I asked after waking up from the rough bumping.

"I'll check," Lass said before he ran over to the door and peeked under.

Just then, the door opened, smacking Lass right in the face. Luckily, I was peeking from underneath the tarp, but still.

Some people came in and began taking a few of the crates and barrels out before leaving. It seemed to take awhile, and all the while I was wondering what happened to Lass.

Where was he?

Soon, all the people were gone, but the door was left open, probably in preparation for new supplies.

I felt someone pick me up from behind and ran towards the door.

I wanted to ask Lass what happened, but I couldn't or else I'd blow our cover, so I waited as Lass leaped over the edge of the boat and onto the purple-tinged sands of Ellia.

He was gonna leave footsteps!

Lass didn't seem worried though as he bounded his way out of the shore and amongst some purple rocks. Then he changed course and headed due east, then south, and east again.

There were shouts from the beach, indicating that Lass's footsteps were found, but rocks wouldn't leave very good traces of footsteps, which means that only the sand had a path, and Lass had made sure to stay away from the path.

Lass took us towards the direction of the Temple of Fire, which was probably still filled with lots of lava and fire, which means no one would really want to go there.

Soon, he set me down under some hardened lava. The stench of smoke was stale, so maybe we would be safe here for awhile. There wasn't much heat either, which was good.

And now, we were in Ellia, though a bit far away from Silver Cross town and the home of the Silver Cross Assassins.


End file.
